Joint statement of the foreign minister of Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom raffirming continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the International Criminal Court (ICC)

France Diplomacy

https://x.com/francediplo_EN/status/2108634485566615697

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Miliband rejects chief rabbi’s claim that West Bank sanctions put UK Jews at risk. Foreign secretary says Sir Ephraim Mirvis wrong to suggest measures against Israeli settlements will make British Jews less safe

Ed Miliband said the UK government’s sanctions, coordinated with France, Canada and nine other countries, were the ‘right thing to do’. Photograph: James Manning/PA

Aletha Adu Political correspondent

Wed 9 Sep 2026

Ed Miliband has rejected warnings from the UK’s chief rabbi that the government’s sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements will make British Jews less safe, as he emphasised ministers can confront the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government while also fighting antisemitism.

The foreign secretary announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, with the government taking the position that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory was unlawful.

The measures were coordinated with France, Canada and nine other countries that were also introducing sanctions on Israel over the increasing expansion of settlements, which the UK government says is threatening the future of a Palestinian state.

In a joint statement, leaders including Andy Burnham, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney said: “The time has come to take further action to uphold our commitment to protect the two-state solution, our interests and to stand up for our values, before it is too late.”... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/09/ed-miliband-rejects-chief-rabbi-claim-west-bank-sanctions-british-jews-less-safe

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The Women Who Shaped the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

70 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But she was not alone. Discover who are the women who shaped the major instrument for the defense of Human Rights.

US visa refusal for Palestinian delegation prompts calls to move UN meeting to Geneva. General assembly session about two-state solution for Palestine and Israel due to start in New York on Tuesday

The UK, France, Australia, Canada and others are expected to recognise a Palestinian state if certain conditions are met. Photograph: Haitham Imad /EPA

The US’s refusal to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation to the UN general assembly has led to calls for a one-day conference on a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel to be moved from the UN’s headquarters in New York to its other main site in Geneva.

Donald Trump’s White House has already refused to grant a visa to the Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, and 80 other Palestinian officials for the general assembly session, which begins on Tuesday.

There is now speculation that, citing anti-terrorist laws, he will also ban diplomats from Brazil, Iran, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

In 1988 the US debarred the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), Yasser Arafat, from travelling to New York.

But the White House is going further than before by withholding visas from the entire travelling Palestinian delegation to probably the most important diplomatic event for Palestine since the Oslo accords – a one-day event at which the UK, France, Australia, Canada and others are expected to recognise a Palestinian state if certain conditions are met, which has infuriated Israel.

Such a blanket ban has never been attempted in the history of the UN. Per Clausen, a Danish MEP who is a member of the Left group, has called for Europe to propose a temporary transfer to Geneva “both to uphold the Palestinians’ right to be represented and to... READ MORE    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/08/us-visa-refusal-for-palestinian-delegation-prompts-calls-to-move-un-meeting-to-geneva

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"It's outlandish that a Member State of the UN system would choose to undo the mandate of an organisation, which is mandated by the UN General Assembly."

The UK, France & Germany urge Israel to abide by its international obligations & ensure humanitarian access. No entity can replace @UNRWA’s critical role. 

We support UNRWA’s mandate & call for cooperation with international partners.

Joint statement on behalf of the Foreign Ministers of the UK, France and Germany

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"There has been excellent solidarity from countries around the world and within the UN to put pressure so that this bill [that bans UNRWA from operating] is not implemented," @JulietteTouma  tells Russia Today. “Our focus is to stay and deliver.”

Recent photo of how Israel targeted UNWRA schools and aid workers in Gaza

Recent photo of how Israel targeted UNWRA schools and aid workers in Gaza

Recent photo of how Israel targeted UNWRA schools and aid workers in Gaza

 

UNRWA’s personnel and services are critical to the success of the #ceasefire in #Gaza. "These are the teams who have reached more than half a million people with food and supplies" since the ceasefire started, tells   @TamaraAlrifai to  @TheNationalNews 

 

UNRWA is committed to continuing to deliver lifesaving services.

@UN_JWFOWLER

tells

@UN_News_Centre

Across occupied East Jerusalem alone, UNRWA provides 70,000 patients with primary healthcare. "It's outlandish that a Member State of the UN system would choose to undo the mandate of an organisation, which is mandated by the UN General Assembly."

 

UNRWA is committed to continuing to deliver lifesaving services

#JeSuisBDS... "Anti-Israel" Activism Criminalized in the Land of Charlie Hebdo and “Free Speech”

Glenn Greenwald

Oct. 27 2015, 10:34 a.m.

"Indeed, an outstanding Washington Post op-ed this week by a former IDF soldier, Assaf Gavron, documents how such attacks on Israel critics now extend to Israeli citizens themselves. Gavron describes how “the internal discussion in Israel is more militant, threatening and intolerant than it has ever been,” and “those few dissenters who attempt to contradict it — to ask questions, to protest, to represent a different color from this artificial consensus — are ridiculed and patronized at best, threatened, vilified and physically attacked at worst.”

Israel defenders love to equate “criticism of Israel” with “anti-Semitism” and then sanctimoniously deny that anyone does that. But criminalizing BDS advocacy — threatening people with large fines and prison terms for protesting the polices of the Israel government — is as clear of a case as it gets. As Haaretz put it, “The dragnet has also swept up BDS protesters whose actions have targeted Israel, not Jews.”

Ponder how pernicious this is. It is perfectly legal to advocate sanctions against Iran, or Russia, or Sudan, or virtually any other country. Indeed, sanctions and boycotts against those countries are not only frequently advocated in the West but are official policy. But it is illegal — criminal — to advocate boycotts and sanctions against one country: Israel. It requires sky-high levels of authoritarianism, even fascism, to abuse the criminal law to outlaw advocacy of policies and activism when it involves one country, and one country only..."

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https://theintercept.com/2015/10/27/criminalization-of-anti-israel-activism-escalates-this-time-in-the-land-of-the-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-march/

The post-Charlie Hebdo “free speech” march in Paris was a fraud for multiple reasons, as I wrote at the time. It was led by dozens of world leaders, many of whom imprison or even kill people for expressing prohibited views. It was cheered by many Westerners who feign upset only when free speech abridgments are perpetrated by Muslims, but not — as is far more common — by their own governments against Muslims.

Worst of all, the march took place in a country that is one of the most hostile to free speech rights in the West, as France quickly demonstrated in the days after the march by rounding up and prosecuting Muslims and other anti-Israel activists for the political views they expressed. A great, best-selling book by French philosopher Emmanuel Todd released this year argues that these “free speech” marches were a “sham,” driven by many political sentiments — nativism, nationalism, anti-Muslim bigotry — that had nothing to do with free speech.

The absurdity of France’s celebrating itself for free expression was vividly highlighted by this week’s decision from that nation’s highest court, one that is a direct assault on basic free speech rights. The French high court upheld the criminal conviction of 12 political activists for the “crime” of advocating sanctions and a boycott against Israel as a means of ending the decades-long military occupation of Palestine. What did these French criminals do? This:

The individuals arrived at the supermarket wearing shirts emblazoned with the words: “Long live Palestine, boycott Israel.” They also handed out fliers that said that “buying Israeli products means legitimizing crimes in Gaza.” ...READ MORE

Hollande: France urges 'full and complete halt to settlement'

French President Francois Hollande shakes hands with President
Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in the West Bank city of
Ramallah, on November 18, 2013 (AFP/Majdi Mohammed)

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http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=648546

18/11/2013
RAMALLAH (AFP) -- French President Francois Hollande on Monday called for a complete halt to Israel's settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territory.

"France demands a full and complete halt to settlement activity," he said at a joint news conference in Ramallah with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas.

Speaking on his first official visit to the Palestinian territories, the French leader warned that settlement construction was problematic for the peace talks which have been limping along for more than three months with little sign of progress.

"Settlement activity complicates the negotiations and makes it difficult to achieve a two-state solution," Hollande said.

Since Israeli and Palestinian negotiators returned to the table at the end of July, Israel has announced thousands of new settler homes in a move which has angered Ramallah.

But Abbas on Sunday told AFP that peace talks with Israel would continue for the full nine months agreed with Washington "regardless of what happens on the ground".

In talks with the Israeli leadership on Sunday, Hollande said France expected the government to make "gestures" with respect to settlement construction, although he did not indicate exactly what that might involve.

"If you want peace, you need to have gestures towards peace," he said.

France opposes rapid Palestinian bid to join UNESCO

A Palestinian walks past the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. France says it opposes moves by the Palestinian Authority to seek rapid recognition as a full state member of the United Nations cultural organisation UNESCO. (AFP Photo/Hazem Bader)

France opposes rapid Palestinian bid to join UNESCO

France said Wednesday that it opposed moves by the Palestinian Authority to seek rapid recognition as a full state member of the United Nations cultural organisation UNESCO.

"We don't think UNESCO is the appropriate arena," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said, after Arab members of the world body said they wanted the Palestinians to be promoted from observers to full members.

Palestinian leaders have demanded full recognition as a state by the United Nations Security Council in New York -- in the full knowledge that the United States will veto such a move, in support of its ally Israel.

Now their Arab allies in Paris-Based UNESCO have opened up a second front, hoping to add to the growing trappings of Palestinian statehood.

And UNESCO membership would not only be a diplomatic feather in Palestine's cap -- it would allow it to apply to class its monuments as World Heritage Sites at a time when the heritage of much of the Holy Land is under dispute.

France has tried to ply a middle course in the debate, while insisting it fully supports eventual Palestinian statehood in the framework of a two-state solution that guarantees Israel's security and a viable Palestine.

But Valero said France felt it "was not the time" for the Palestinians to push the UNESCO issue, and insisted that the "priority must be the resumption of negotiations" with Israel on an eventual settlement of the dispute.