Former French and British Diplomats Demand End to Israel Arms Sales

Published in Le Monde, the joint op-ed contends that because both nations helped shape the modern Middle East, they hold a moral responsibility to enforce equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians. The diplomats characterize the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as a humanitarian catastrophe, noting that two million people in Gaza are currently confined to a fraction of their territory without adequate food, medicine, or housing. The letter explicitly condemns ongoing house demolitions and settler violence in the West Bank, labeling these actions as ethnic cleansing.

To move beyond mere diplomatic condemnation, the signatories propose seven concrete policy shifts. These include suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, halting all bilateral military cooperation, and imposing a total ban on trade with illegal settlements. They further demand that the UK and France enforce rulings from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Former UK ambassador Nicholas Hopton emphasized that the group’s language is drawn directly from established international legal bodies rather than personal political opinion. Peter Millett, a former British ambassador to Libya, added that European foreign ministers have spent years issuing statements of concern, yet the time for rhetoric has passed in favor of binding action to end Israeli impunity.