38 left-wing French MPs have co-signed a draft resolution urging the government to condemn what they called “the institutionalization by Israel of a regime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.’’
“All the criteria to qualify the apartheid regime set up by the State of Israel are met,” the tekst of the resolution says. The signatories specify: “Israel has perpetrated several inhumane acts listed by the Convention on the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people”. They therefore “invite” “the French government to act to achieve the dismantling” of the Israeli regime.
The text wazs introduced by Communist MP Jean-Paul Lecoq, who is vice-president of the French National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee.
The signatories are members of the left-wing NUPES (Nouvelle Union Populaire Ecologique et Sociale) group which includes extreme-left, Socialists, Communist and Ecologist MPs.
In two other demands, these deputies want “the recognition of the State of Palestine alongside that of Israel”. “This is the only possible solution to put an end to all forms of violence and discrimination, and to open a new historical phase of peace,” they say. They also demand “the recognition of the legality of the call to boycott Israeli products”, in the name of freedom of expression. Such a boycott is pohibited by law in France.
One Socialist MP, Jérôme Guedj, denounced the draft resolution as an “unacceptable” text.
‘’While I can defend the recognition of the State of Palestine, I consider on the other hand the two other points “unacceptable,’’ he wrote on Twitter, adding that such a text ‘’doesn’t serve the cause of peace.’’ ‘’This is the worst way to approach the issue,’’ he added.
Another Socialist MP, Anne Hidalgo, who is the Mayor of Paris, wrote that ‘’the resolution will not bring peace and will import conflicts in France,” “On the contrary, we must promote exchanges as we do with Israeli and Palestinian cities. The boycott will not solve anything,” she added.
Yonathan Arfi, the new president of Crif, the umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, slammed the resolution “misleading in substance and hateful in form.’’ “It reflects the rise in power in France of the far left, Corbyn style, mixing clientelism and obsession with Israel. Irresponsible and dangerous approach,” he said.
The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra) also sees “a scandalous and misleading text”. “We will not let this obsessive anti-Semitism of a certain “left”, which dishonors the Republic and seeks to inflame the opinion,” the group said on Twitter.