France Bars Israeli Settler Leader Dagan at Paris Airport
Is this the bare minimum after decades of looking away or cheap theater?
Above: Yossi Dagan (Center), Chairman of the Council for Settlements in the northern West Bank, in Jerusalem on Aug. 22, 2023. Image credit: Mustafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Facts
- Yossi Dagan, who heads the Samaria Regional Council in the northern West Bank, said Wednesday that France denied him entry last week at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, where he had arrived for meetings with elected officials.
- France's Foreign Ministry said Dagan is subject to an entry ban over his "active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank," adding that settlement activity "contravenes international law and undermines the two-state solution."
- Israel's Foreign Ministry termed the move "completely unacceptable," saying it targets a law-abiding elected official on political and ideological grounds. It further said it would demand explanations from the French government before weighing next steps.
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The Spin
Anti-Israel narrative
Barring a settler leader from Paris is the bare minimum after decades of looking away while land was seized and Palestinians terrorized. Words and press releases have never slowed a settlement project that has nearly erased the possibility of two states. Real consequences — entry bans, import bans on goods from occupied land — are needed.
Pro-Israel narrative
Slamming the door on an Israeli regional official is diplomatic theater that solves nothing. Punishing Israel is the cheapest governing available, requiring only a microphone while borders, unemployment and street violence go unaddressed. Decades of singling out the Jewish state have fed a homegrown hatred that never stops at Jews.
