Former French and British Diplomats Urge Sanctions Against Israel

A coalition of 102 former diplomats from France and the United Kingdom issued a joint open letter to President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Andy Burnham demanding sanctions against Israel. The group, consisting of 52 former French diplomats and 50 former British ambassadors, urged their governments to implement a ban on arms transfers and freeze trade agreements between Israel and the UK and EU, including a specific ban on trade with Israeli settlements.

Former diplomats argue that Israeli policies in occupied Palestinian territories, characterized by house demolitions and settler violence, amount to "ethnic cleansing" and the "erasure" of Palestine. They assert that because France and the UK recognized a Palestinian state in 2025, both nations have a responsibility to ensure equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians and to protect the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

The letter also calls for guaranteed humanitarian access to Gaza and urges Palestinian leadership to ensure a democratic state following scheduled November elections, describing current leadership as "unrepresentative and dysfunctional."

This diplomatic pressure follows a recent condemnation by France, the UK, and nine other nations regarding Israeli construction tenders for the E1 settlement project. Simultaneously, Israel has rejected a 15-point US-led peace plan for Gaza negotiated by Jared Kushner, a move that drew criticism from eight Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.