“We must not disfigure the just cause of the Palestinians”, said Bruno Retailleau. ”Many of our fellow Muslims profess a faith that is perfectly compatible with the values of the Republic.”

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced on Wednesday that he was initiating a proceeding to dissolve the group ‘’Urgence Palestine, which has organized several pro-Palestinian demonstrations and has called for a boycott of Israel.

He is also proceeding with the dissolution of an ultra-right group called ‘’Lyon Populaire’’.

Speaking on CNews/Europe 1 channe, the minister stressed the need to “hit the Islamists” with regard to Urgence Palestine. “Islamism is an ideology that tries to exploit a religion. There is a disfigurement of faith”, he said.

“We must not disfigure the just cause of the Palestinians”, he continued, insisting that “many of our fellow Muslims profess a faith that is perfectly compatible with the values of the Republic”.

”Urgence Palestine”, created in the wake of the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on October 7 and the Israeli offensive against the terror group in the Gaza Strip, claims to bring together “citizens, associations, trade unions and political organizations and movements mobilized for the self-determination of the Palestinian people”. The group regularly organizes demonstrations in several cities, some of which have been banned by the authorities.

The group supports the “resistance of the Palestinian people” and, more broadly, advocates the “struggle against colonial oppression and imperialist wars”.

It claims that it wants to put an end to the “genocide” of Gazans since the October 7th attack and demands a boycott and sanctions against Israel, calling into question “the French government’s complicity in Israeli crimes.’’