Paris- In a new scandal that shakes the pillars of French society and adds to the government’s fluctuating positions regarding the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip, MP Thomas Portes of the “Proud France” party revealed the presence of 4,185 French-Israelis in the ranks of the occupation army.
Although the enrollment of the French and dual nationals (French and Israeli) into the Israeli army has been a proven fact for several years, in the current war they constitute the second unit of foreign soldiers after the United States.
The inclusion of this number at this time prompted many politicians and human rights institutions to demand that they be brought to justice in France, on charges of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.
“Shame” is not hidden by clouds
Based on an investigation conducted by the French “Europe 1” channel, Representative Portes published a press statement on Saturday, requesting that those involved in the war on the Gaza front be tried. The elected representative of the Seine-Saint-Denis region said, “Faced with this situation, and as a French parliamentarian, I cannot remain silent, and France cannot remain silent.”
Indeed, the MP sent a letter to French Minister of Justice Eric Dupont-Moretti on Wednesday, requesting that he use his authority to open an investigation into the thousands of French people present on the front of the besieged Gaza Strip on behalf of the occupation army.
Portes added in the text of the message that he published on his page on the “X” platform that “in the absence of a quick reaction from the keeper of the seals,” he reserves the right to submit a report to the Public Prosecutor in Paris via Article 40, and to challenge the government publicly during a future session, given For war crimes committed by the Israeli army, whether in Gaza or the West Bank.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, the representative of the “Proud France” party, Jérôme Le Gavere, denounced the publication of pictures and video clips by Frenchmen in the ranks of the occupation army on social media platforms in which they proudly waved the bombs and missiles on which they had written their names, and he believes that this falls within the political battle led by his party. Inside France, for an immediate and complete ceasefire in Gaza.
Commenting on what she described as a “disgusting shame,” the head of the French-Palestinian Solidarity Association, Anne Tialon, criticized press reports that present the French who left to serve the occupation army as “heroes,” saying, “We were truly shocked, and our country does not worry about that at all. It is a scandal.” “.
I have an official address to the courier at the Ministry of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti to ask him to use his instruction when the children are close to the public concerned with 4000 French letters on the front. #Gaza From the Israeli army. In this case… pic.twitter.com/gR7yV1KcO1
— Thomas Portes (@Portes_Thomas) December 20, 2023
In full view of the government
The occupation army has been attracting volunteer recruits from all over the world for years, and summer camps and training courses for the French are organized inside military bases in Israel.
Associations such as the Paris-based Morechet Association invite young people, including minors as young as 16 years old, to try this work for a period not exceeding 3 weeks, under the cover of the “Sar-El” program, which is an abbreviation for ( Sherout Le Israel) meaning “Service to Israel”.
The Israeli army has received more than 40,000 French volunteers at its military bases since the program was established in France in 1983. Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 constitute two-thirds of the 1,000 French volunteers annually, while retirees make up the rest.
The director of the Middle East and North Africa department at the AFDI human rights organization, lawyer Abdel Majeed Marari, stated, “These associations recruit young people at a very young age in exchange for sums of money, most of whom are children from charitable shelters, and are active under the cover of recreational camps in some Arab countries.” Also, especially in North Africa, but in France, these institutions operate in a broad and legal field.”
He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “At a time when the French government is dissolving or banning associations with a certain religious orientation, it allows these associations to operate, even though they may pose a threat to the security of the country because these people will be fighters tomorrow, and they may make mistakes and commit criminal acts that affect the security and sovereignty of France.”
Regarding whether the French Ministry of Defense was involved, Marari said, “The public manner in which the volunteers traveled from France after the seventh of last October indicates that the government gave them the green light, and if the ministry was aware of this, this proves its responsibility, and it may be raised.” This point will be discussed during the pleadings before the judiciary, and we will then demand the presence of a representative of the ministry to provide answers.”
Mercenaries according to the law
The French-Palestinian Solidarity Association explains in its statement that there are two ways to serve in the occupation army:
- For dual nationals: Those who immigrated to Israel as Jews and obtained Israeli citizenship while retaining their French citizenship. They must perform compulsory military service for 3 years for boys and 2 years for girls.
- For those who do not have Israeli citizenship: French citizens residing in France, whether they recognize themselves as Jews or not, can join the Israeli army as volunteers, without residing in Israel or holding its citizenship.
Marari explains, “Those who went to fight with the Israeli occupation are considered mercenaries according to the law, according to the Paris Agreement against the work of mercenaries, because they are neither Israelis nor reservists.”
In his interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Marari specified that “the penalty is the payment of 100,000 euros, and imprisonment for 7 years or more, depending on the cases, in accordance with Article 436, second paragraph of the French Criminal Code.”
The lawyer confirmed that an investigation will be opened that includes a list of names and nationalities, whether regarding the file of mercenaries or dual nationals, as well as another file about those who killed French citizens who held Palestinian nationality.
He said, “This is supposed to be done by analogy with those who participated in irregular fighting alongside ISIS in Syria, where the French authorities arrested them, deported their families, and prevented their children from the right to return to their country, even though they are French,” pointing out the need to deal with the mercenaries’ file in the hands of those responsible. Iron by the French judiciary.
If the features of the complaint are complete and the Public Prosecutor is convinced about the descriptions of the mercenaries, the judicial procedure is to arrest them immediately upon their arrival at the airport, without issuing an international arrest warrant, because the latter is in the case of escape, followed by referring them to the investigating judge, listening to them, and collecting evidence. Documented such as photos.
The lawyer highlighted a circulated photo of the Israeli Defense Minister with soldiers, including dozens of masked men who do not want to reveal their identities because they are mercenaries of multiple nationalities.
Legal and legal criticism
The head of the French-Palestinian Solidarity Association, Anne Tialon, confirmed that “everyone knows that the French have been serving in the occupation army for a long time, and Israel is proud of that within a declared culture of war, and they can return to France as if nothing had happened.”
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Tialon recalled the French soldier Elor Azaria, who shot a Palestinian in the head in a street in Hebron. He was facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but he was sentenced to 18 months, of which he served only 8 months. “This was the case in the part we call the ghost city of Hebron, where the Palestinians were expelled and replaced by about 500 settlers,” she said.
The association’s president pointed out that “what is also worrying are the French who serve in the occupation army and are accused of committing war crimes, and the settlers who hold French nationality and are particularly violent, and since colonialism is a war crime, the accusation falls on them as well.”
In this regard, MP Jerome Legavere criticized the position of the French government, which continues to provide unconditional support for Israel, “as if killing civilians and bombing hospitals is self-defense,” he said.
He added that she gives “twisted and embarrassing answers when questioned every Tuesday in the National Assembly,” and that “the role of the French state is not a mystery to anyone, as it is, for example, considered the largest arms exporter in the world.”
