France does not mean to threaten Israel, but a move to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank would be considered a “serious” violation of international law and would inevitably have negative consequences for bilateral relations, Paris’s ambassador in Tel Aviv said in an interview.
“There are violations of international law of different degrees of severity, and an annexation of the Jordan Valley and the settlements would be considered a serious one,” Eric Danon told The Times of Israel. “This qualification implies that there would be consequences, as it would not be considered ‘serious’ otherwise.”
In an hour-and-a-half long interview conducted via Zoom, Danon also explained why Paris is not currently considering blacklisting Hezbollah, and how he surprisingly became his country’s first Jewish ambassador to Israel, defying longstanding French diplomatic dogma that said that Jews should never represent Paris in the Jewish state due to dual loyalty concerns.
France, like most European countries, has been very outspoken in its opposition to an Israeli annexation. On April 23, French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Rivière told the Security Council that such a move would “constitute a blatant violation of international law,” could “not pass unchallenged and shall not be overlooked in our relationship with Israel.”
Many observers understood this wording to imply a stern warning, including of possible sanctions against Israel. But Danon said his colleague’s statement should not be read as a menace.
“Let me clarify the wording: There is no such thing as a ‘threat.’ There are reactions to statements issued by Israel, should [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s] announcements [about his intentions to annex] be implemented,” he said.
“France has always promoted a vision of international relations based on the rule of law and on negotiations, and not on unilateral actions,” he went on. “Therefore, honestly, there is nothing new in France’s position. There was simply a need to reaffirm this position because for the first time, annexation was included in the coalition agreement and it seems that the deadline is approaching fast.”
Like the European Union, the French government has vehemently condemned Israeli plans for settlement expansion, but so far not reacted to them with any kind of sanctions.
But “annexation is different,” Danon said. “You cannot compare a tender for a new neighborhood in a settlement — which we consider a bad thing, indeed a violation of international law — with annexation. Annexation is much more serious — it’s a declaration that this is now Israeli territory. That’s entirely different.” READ MORE
