France’s National Assembly rejected a motion by the communists to denounce “Israel’s institutionalization of an apartheid regime,” ignoring calls from leftist politicians to vote “on the side of international law.”
The resolution failed to pass, with 199 against and 71 in favour, according to Le Figaro. It was supported by the leftist populist party La France Insoumise and the centre-left Ecologist Party but was denounced by the presidential camp, Socialist Party deputies, the right and the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF).
The author of the resolution, MEP Jean-Paul Lecoq, claimed that his group supported the existence of the State of Israel but claimed that Israel had experienced an “illiberal and colonial drift.”
“Whether the reasons are political, security or religious, the settlement policy is contrary to international law,” Jean-Paul Lecoq said, alleging that Israel is an “institutionalized regime, engraved in the marble of the law (…), with the aim of oppressing one group over another (and) institutionally maintained in place.” To prove his claim, he cited “hundreds of UN resolutions, (…) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe”, and “the investigations and reports published by NGOs.”
The non-binding resolution also called on France’s executive branch to recognize the “State of Palestine” and to introduce a resolution at the UN to enact “a strict arms embargo” on Israel and to eliminate prohibitions on “a boycott of settlement products.”
The resolution was largely rejected by most of the parliament on Thursday, with a strong majority ignoring the left’s calls to vote for the measure in order to support “international law.”