French foreign minister accuses Israeli government of ‘criminal and shameful’ tolerance of settler violence

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Sunday accused the Israeli government of displaying what he called “criminal and shameful” tolerance toward violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Speaking during a joint program broadcast by France Inter and France 2, Barrot pointed to the seizure of Palestinian land and a sharp increase in violence and intimidation by extremist settlers. “Violence perpetrated by Israeli extremists there against Palestinians has risen to unprecedented levels,” Barrot said, adding that there was “a criminal and shameful tolerance on the part of the Israeli government regarding what is happening in the West Bank.” Barrot argued that the Israeli government’s approach violated international law and was also damaging to Israel’s own security. […]