Former French, British ambassadors urge halt to arms exports, ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank

More than 100 former French and British diplomats have called on French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take joint action to uphold international law in Palestine, Anadolu reports.

“The United Kingdom and France share values and an international outlook,” the former diplomats said in an open letter obtained by Anadolu on Saturday. They stressed that both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council and are committed to upholding international law.

The letter was addressed to Burnham, with copies also sent to Macron and British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

“Those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held to account,” they said, adding that only such action would allow the two governments to “rebut the accusation of double standards.”

The signatories said France and the UK, which recognized the state of Palestine in 2025, should take “urgent action” to safeguard the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

They said the Israeli government was seeking to “destroy any prospect of an independent Palestinian state” and accused it of showing “contempt for the law, the rulings of the International Court of Justice and countless UNSC Resolutions.”

The former diplomats also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel “must live by the sword.”

The statement described the approach as “morally wrong and counterproductive,” saying it “imperils Israel’s security and leaves no room for negotiation.”

The signatories said the Israeli government’s policies were also damaging Israel’s international standing and “flout laws on which we all rely.”

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They urged France and the UK to take seven measures, including upholding decisions by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement over alleged breaches of human rights provisions, and suspending arms transfers to and from Israel and bilateral military cooperation.

They also called for “unrestricted aid access to Gaza,” led by UNRWA, other UN agencies and international nongovernmental organizations, as well as access for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians.

The former diplomats urged the two governments to “ban all trade with settlements,” including goods, investment, insurance and other financial services.

They called for warnings to potential bidders involved in financing or constructing the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem, which they described as a “red line,” saying their business interests in France and the UK should face consequences if they proceed.

The letter also urged making it an offense for citizens of France and the UK to purchase property on “stolen Palestinian land” and for removing charitable status from organizations funding settlements.

“These actions, imposing penalties for law-breaking, safeguard the rule of law and show that there is an alternative to violence: equal rights, justice and mutual security with international guarantees,” they said.

The signatories called on France and the UK to lead like-minded governments in Europe, the Middle East, the Global South, the Francophonie and the Commonwealth.

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“These proposals reflect our shared values – international law and equal rights – which are in our interest,” they said.

“Where there is no law, none of us is safe.”

The former diplomats said Israel’s policy of occupation and destruction extended beyond the Palestinian territories to Lebanon and Syria.

“In East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, Palestinian house demolitions and rampant settler violence – with the connivance of the Israeli army and police – amount to ethnic cleansing,” the letter said. “Palestine is being erased before our eyes.”

“This policy of occupation and destruction extends to Lebanon – where many villages have been razed – and Syria,” they said, describing it as “a stain on the conscience of humanity” and calling on the UK and France to act.

The signatories include former British ambassadors to Turkiye Sir Dominick Chilcott and Sir Kieran Prendergast, as well as former French and British consuls general to Jerusalem, including Frederic Desagneaux, Regis Koetschet, Stanislas de Laboulaye, Alain Remy and Sir Vincent Fean.

They also include former ambassadors to Russia, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UN.

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