France FM: Settler violations in the West Bank are unacceptable

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that the violations by illegal settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are “unacceptable.”

In a post on X yesterday, the minister said: “In the West Bank, settlement construction is accelerating, in flagrant violation of international law. In addition, settlers commit abuses against Palestinians, depriving them of their rights and their land. We cannot accept this, action will be taken.”

Colonna met with Palestinian olive farmers in the village of Al-Mazraa Al-Qibliya and was told how their olive harvest was seized by illegal Israeli settlers after the farmers were forced out of their fields.

Commenting on this, the minister said that such actions undermine the perspective of a political solution, weaken the Palestinian Authority, and can even push towards new developments and destabilisation in the West Bank.

She also met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh after meeting in Tel Aviv with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen.

In statements during a joint press conference with Cohen, Colonna called for an “immediate and durable truce” in the Gaza Strip.

The French Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that one of its employees died after being wounded in an Israeli air strike on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The statement added, “Some employees took refuge in the home of a colleague of theirs who works at the French consulate, and the house was subjected to an Israeli attack on December 13.”

“France condemns the bombing of the residential building, which resulted in a number of civilian casualties.”

Read: In Israel, French FM calls for ‘immediate and durable’ ceasefire