French Authorities Deport Israeli Settlement Council Head Immediately Upon Arrival

French authorities barred Yossi Dagan, the head of the Regional Council of Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, from entering their territory, according to a statement issued by his office, in a move that Israel described on Wednesday as “unacceptable.”

Dagan’s office said he was forced to leave France after the plane he was traveling on landed at one of Paris’s airports last week.

The statement clarified that he was “set aside during passport control and questioned” before being informed that he was banned from entering French territory.

The French Foreign Ministry did not confirm to AFP the deportation of Dagan, but noted that he is “subject to an administrative ban from French territory due to his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank.”

This incident comes amid rising tensions between Israel and European countries, particularly regarding the escalating violence by settlers and settlement expansion in the West Bank under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose term is ending.

The ministry added, “Israel will request clarification from the French government and will consider its next steps accordingly.”

With the exception of East Jerusalem, approximately three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, along with more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements considered illegal under international law.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, coinciding with the war in the Gaza Strip that erupted on October 7, 2023. Settler violence against Palestinians has also increased in recent months, after perpetrators had largely evaded legal prosecution by Israeli authorities for years.

At least 1,116 Palestinians, including some armed militants, were killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority data.

Conversely, official Israeli data show that at least 51 Israelis, both civilians and military personnel, were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during clashes with Israeli forces.

The escalation in violence led several countries, including France, to announce in September their intention to impose sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements.