France ponders additional measures against Israeli settlers

France was considering taking additional measures against Israeli settlers, its Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has revealed. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 31 March 2024
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France ponders additional measures against Israeli settlers

  • Egypt, France, Jordan foreign ministers discuss Gaza crisis, demand implementation of UN Security Council resolutions

CAIRO: France was considering taking additional measures against Israeli settlers, its Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has revealed.

He also said that his country would be putting forward a draft resolution at the UN Security Council setting out a process for a politically negotiated settlement of the war in Gaza.

Sejourne was speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts Sameh Shoukry and Ayman Safadi, respectively.

Shoukry said that the three ministers’ discussions in the Egyptian capital had covered the latest developments in the Strip, Israel’s intention to launch an attack on the Palestinian city of Rafah and the consequences of that, as well as the necessity of reaching an immediate ceasefire.

Safadi called on the UN Security Council to take measures toward a ceasefire in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers demanded the full implementation of three Security Council resolutions including aid access to Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages, and they condemned breaches of international law.

Warning of famine and the collapse of the health system in the Strip, Sejourne, Shoukry, and Safadi also noted their opposition to any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians.

Highlighting Egypt’s important role in peace negotiations, they urged the implementation of recent International Court of Justice provisional measures and demanded that Israel lift all obstacles to the free and safe flow of international humanitarian aid to the whole of Gaza.

In addition, the ministers said the status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites should be maintained, and pointed out that a two-state solution to the crisis was the only option for peace and security going forward.


UN chief says those behind ‘unacceptable’ Homs attack must face justice

Updated 27 December 2025
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UN chief says those behind ‘unacceptable’ Homs attack must face justice

  • France says the "terror" attack is designed to destabilize the country

UNITED NATIONS/PARIS: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly attack on Friday prayers at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, and said the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
“The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable. He stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The explosion killed at least eight worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Homs, with an Islamist militant group claiming responsibility.

France also condemned the attack, calling it an “act of terrorism” designed to destabilize the country.
The attack “is part of a deliberate strategy aimed at destabilizing Syria and the transition government,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
It condemned what it said was an attempt to “compromise ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability.”
The attack, during Friday prayers, was the second blast in a place of worship since Islamist authorities took power a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June.
In a statement on Telegram, the extremist group Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city.