Former British and French diplomats urge action over Israel’s ‘erasure’ of Palestine. In letter to Macron and Burnham, more than 100 senior figures accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and call for measures including trade ban

The diplomats’ letter states: ‘Nothing justifies Israel’s systematic policy of destruction of Gaza and its population.’

Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

 Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Sat 22 Aug 2026 05.00 EDT

More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.

An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy.

Arguing that Britain and France played a key role in the formation of the modern-day Middle East and noting that both countries took the step of recognising Palestine as a state in 2025, the diplomats contend that their countries now have a responsibility “to make common cause on the region’s fundamental fault line – equal rights for Israeli and Palestinians”.

The letter, addressed to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the British prime minister, Andy Burnham, has been signed by 52 French former diplomats and 50 British former ambassadors, many of whom served in the Middle East, in senior posts in Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Israel, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The list of... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/22/uk-france-diplomats-israel-palestine

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]