Israeli lawmaker Dan Illouz (Likud) set up an office outside the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem on Thursday, in protest against Paris’s decision to recognize “Palestine,” he told JNS.
“The recognition of a Palestinian state must be answered on two fronts: by applying Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria—to show the world that this land is ours and that terror carries a price, not a prize—and by immediately shutting down the foreign consulates in Jerusalem that have become de facto embassies for a fictitious state and hubs of anti-Israel propaganda,” Illouz said in a statement to JNS on Thursday.
“The time for ambiguity is over: Jerusalem is Israel’s eternal capital,” the Knesset member added.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron, along with the leaders of Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco, recognized a Palestinian state at a summit in New York. The recognition followed similar actions by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal on Sept. 21.
Following Paris’s decision, the consulate, located within the 1967 lines favored by proponents of the two-state solution, updated its address on the official website of the European Commission to list it in “Palestine.”
The U.K. made a similar move, adding “Palestine” to the address of its mission in northern Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah/Shimon Hatzadik area.
The address was subsequently changed again to avoid reference to either “Palestine” or the State of Israel following a wave of criticism.
Canada went further, changing the address of its embassy in Tel Aviv, which has long been recognized by Ottawa as Israel’s capital, to read “Tel Aviv, Israel, Palestine” on its Global Affairs Canada website.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday slammed the recognitions as a “shameful surrender,” saying that capitulating to Palestinian terrorism would not obligate the Jewish state in any way.
“A Palestinian state will not be established,” Netanyahu declared.
According to a report on Thursday by Israel’s Channel 12, Jerusalem is considering closing the British and French consulates in response.
