EU boycotts Israel's 50th occupation anniversary celebration

The European Union Ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, said yesterday that he won’t attend an Israeli national celebration that will be held to mark 50 years of the Israeli occupation and settlement activities in the West Bank.

According to the Israel’s Channel 7, the event, entitled “The Jubilee Celebration of the Liberation of Judea, Samaria [the West Bank], the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights,” will be held on Wednesday in the West Bank.

The ceremony will be attended by various senior foreign diplomats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ministers and Knesset members.

“We declined the invitation in line with long-standing EU policy not to attend official events in occupied territory,” head of the political and press section at the EU, Mark Gallagher, said.

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Among those who have yet to confirm is US Ambassador David Friedman. Upon arriving to take up his post, Friedman made it clear he planned to break with the policy of his predecessors, who did not formally cross the pre-1967 lines.

On its part the Canadian Embassy said its ambassador would not attend “because it is an Israeli government event being held in the West Bank”.