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| New tension in Israel-France relations
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Dan Gillerman, Israeli ambassador to the UN
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JERUSALEM/PARIS (EJP)--- Israel’s foreign ministry was "taken aback" by Israel’s ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman’s sharp and public criticism of France for their role in getting EU nations to vote for a UN General Assembly resolution to establish a ‘fact finding mission’ to look into the incident in Beit Hanoun, The Jerusalem Post reported, quoting sources in the ministry.
"Nobody authorized him to touch off an open crisis with France," one ministry source said.
“We didn’t need that, we could have asked for explanations from the French in private, we don’t need to fan the flames in public."
In a speech to the UN General Assembly last Friday during a debate on the recent Israeli military operations in Gaza, Gillerman turned to the French delegation and asked : "If France was shelled from across the border, what would the French do? Would the French government send flowers to their attackers? Well, by voting for this resolution you will be sending flowers to the terrorists, flowers which tomorrow will be laid on the grave of the next Israeli victim."
Gillerman was also quoted as saying over the weekend that the French were "more active in furthering the passing of the resolution than the Qataris, who initially presented the resolution. "France is truly an Arab extension", he added.
He also reportedly blamed the French for convincing EU countries like Germany, Poland, Holland and Denmark, who wanted to abstain, to vote for the resolution.
Compromise on a resolution
The French were pushing for a condemnation of Israel over the Beit Hanoun operation. The US used its right to veto the condemnation, while the French worked closely with Palestine, Lebanon and Qatar in order to come to an agreement with the EU.
Instead of condemnation, a compromise was reached which would establish a ’fact-finding mission’ to establish the events that led up to the operation.
"What motivated the French was the situation in Lebanon," Gillerman was quoted as saying. "This was their expression over the continuation of Israeli over flights in Lebanon, which they believe endanger their troops there."
According The Jerusalem Post, sources in the Foreign Ministry said that these comments opened a public crisis with France, which would be more difficult to defuse.
The source agreed, however, that the French had a leading role in adapting language that enabled other EU countries to vote for the resolution.
No French official comment
Jean-Baptiste Mattei, the French foreign ministry spokesman, said Monday France “doesn’t want to enter a polemic with Israel following Gillerman’s declarations.
Israel’s ambassador to France, Daniel Shek, declared that “one should avoid to fall back into a logical of launching indirect accusations through UN resolution or televised interviews.”
“In the spirit of dialogue between Israel and France, it is more useful to say things to the face rather than through the media. This goes for France as well as for Israel,” Shek told the French press.
Relations between the two countries were already strained last month following an incident in which French anti-aircraft missiles almost fired at two Israeli fighter jets during reconnaissance flights over south Lebanon.
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