WEST BANK,(Palestine Foundation Information Center) Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi on Tuesday praised France’s official position against settler violence in the occupied West Bank as acts of terrorism.
Mardawi praised the French position as “an important step in the right direction towards full recognition of the reality of our people’s suffering under occupation and settlement expansion.”
“This statement affirms the truth and justice of the Palestinian narrative, exposes the terrorist practices of settlers that the international community has long ignored, and strengthens the legitimacy of our demands to end the occupation and hold those who commit crimes against Palestinian civilians accountable.”
He called on other countries to take similar and stronger positions that go beyond verbal condemnation toward practical measures that ensure the protection of the Palestinian people and force the occupation to halt its crimes and settlement plans.
Mardawi also urged the international community to impose sanctions on settlers and those who support them and to hold the occupation government accountable as the direct party responsible for the escalating settler attacks on Palestinian land and people.
Earlier on Tuesday, France’s Foreign Ministry described Israeli settler violence and attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as “acts of terrorism.”
This stance came in response to the killing of Palestinian human rights activist Odeh Al-Hathaleen, who was shot dead by a settler on Monday evening in Khirbet Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “France strongly condemns this murder as well as all deliberate acts of violence committed by extremist settlers against Palestinians, which are increasing throughout the West Bank,” adding, “These acts of violence are acts of terrorism.”
He noted that settlers have killed more than 30 Palestinians since the beginning of 2022, stressing, “The Israeli authorities must take responsibility, punish those who commit these ongoing violent acts with complete impunity, and protect Palestinian civilians immediately.”
This is the first time French diplomacy has used such terminology to describe Israeli settler attacks.
Settler attacks have sharply escalated since the formation of Israel’s current far-right government, which includes hardline extremist figures who provide both political and security cover for settler terrorism against Palestinians.
In a related development, Haaretz reported that an Israeli court today released the settler who killed Odeh Al-Hathaleen, underscoring the entrenched policy of impunity granted to settlers.
