Former diplomats press Paris and London for joint sanctions on Israel

A coalition of 102 former senior diplomats from France and the United Kingdom has published an open letter urging their respective governments to implement joint sanctions against Israel. The letter, released by the French outlet Le Monde, argues that current Israeli policies in occupied Palestinian territory threaten to permanently erase the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.

The signatories, who include former British ambassadors to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, are calling for a coordinated response to uphold international law. They specifically demand the suspension of EU-Israel and UK-Israel trade agreements, as well as a halt to arms transfers and military cooperation. The letter also proposes a ban on trade with Israeli settlements and a prohibition on citizens purchasing property on occupied Palestinian land.

In the letter, the diplomats described Palestinian house demolitions and settler violence as "ethnic cleansing," a term Nicholas Hopton, a former UK ambassador to Iran, Qatar and Yemen, clarified was derived from international legal bodies rather than the signatories themselves. "The words are not our own," Hopton told Al Jazeera. "They are taken from the international legal bodies, the UN, those who have been observing from a neutral position and with expertise."

The call for action arrives against the backdrop of a war in Gaza that has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Although a ceasefire took effect in October 2025, the letter notes that Israeli attacks have continued, killing at least 1,285 Palestinians in the subsequent period. Hopton identified Israel’s renewed push to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank as a more immediate trigger for the letter, warning that such moves could realistically prevent the creation of a future Palestinian state.

The diplomats trace their nations' responsibility back to the mandates the UK and France held over Palestine, Syria and Lebanon after World War I. With both countries having recognised a Palestinian state in 2025, the letter argues this recognition must now be "made real by urgent action." The signatories state that holding those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity to account is necessary to rebut accusations of double standards.

The letter is not directed solely at Israel; it also criticises Palestinian leadership as "unrepresentative and dysfunctional." It urges the leadership to ensure the state remains democratic and law-abiding, pointing to elections scheduled for November as an opportunity for renewal. The letter also calls for guaranteed humanitarian access to Gaza through UNRWA and other UN agencies, with protected access for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians.