Members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee were assaulted by a French senator Tuesday while meeting with a number of senators in Paris. Among other things, she called the MKs “colonialists”. Then the MKs received a few minutes each to give speeches, many of which focused on Palestinian issues and kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The June 27 meeting was friendly until the outburst. MK Shaul Mofaz, who heads the committee, commended President Nicolas Sarkozy for his support of Israel and expressed hope that France would not support the Palestinian statehood bid in September.
But when French Senator Monique Cerisier Ben Guiga took the stand, later on, she expressed harsh criticism against Israel. She claimed the state was practising “colonialism” and preventing Gazans from leading normal lives. Finally, she criticised the decision to impair the prison conditions of Palestinian prisoners, and added a personal tale about witnessing settler violence towards Palestinians while on a visit to Hebron.