We and our partners do the following data processing based on your consent: store and/or access information on a device, personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development France turns back Israeli settler representative upon arrival in Paris French authorities forced Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan to leave the country after he landed at a Paris airport last week, his office said in a statement on Wednesday. The French foreign ministry did not confirm his deportation, only saying that Dagan was banned from French territory due to his involvement in Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. A file photo of Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, sitting in between Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the settlement of Sa-Nur, south of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on April 19, 2026. © Marco Longari, The head of a body representing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law, was turned back after arriving in France.
Israel on Wednesday denounced the move as "unacceptable". Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, was forced to leave France after landing at a Paris airport last week, his office said in a statement. "During passport control, he was pulled aside and questioned" before being informed that he was banned from entering French territory, according to the statement, which did not specify the date or the airport where the events took place.
Reached for comment, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm the deportation, but stressed that "Dagan is subject to an administrative ban from the territory because of his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank". "Settlement building is contrary to international law and undermines the two-state solution," it added. Read moreUS journalist injured during Israeli settler attack on West Bank olive harvest The episode comes amid growing friction between Israel and European countries, particularly around West Bank settlements, which have proliferated under caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's outgoing right-wing government.
The Israeli foreign ministry said the measure was "completely unacceptable", and accused the decision of being based "on clearly political and ideological grounds". "Israel will demand an explanation from the French government and consider its next steps accordingly," it added. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank in settlements, among some three million Palestinians.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased significantly in the territory since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that sparked the war in Gaza. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, most of them by Israeli soldiers, according to an tally based on data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. According to Israeli figures, more than 50 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations over the same period.
The surge in violence has led several countries, including France, to announce in September their intention to sanction trade with West Bank settlements. On Monday, a French parliamentary committee adopted a bill aimed at banning the import of products from Israeli settlements and services contributing to settlement construction. 1. 1 ## France accuses Iran of hacking supermarket fridges Europe Includes a video 5 min 2. 2 ## Judo star Teddy Riner announces bid for French presidency France Includes a video 5 min 3. 3 ## Russell Brand sentenced to 10 years, 6 months for rape and sexual assault Europe Includes a video 2 min 4. 4 ## First day of Ukraine-Russia talks 'constructive and quite substantive', Zelensky says As it happened Europe 5. 5 ## Macrons file new defamation lawsuit against US podcaster over transgender rumours France 6. 6 ## Europe to press US on Ukraine peace and Iran at Paris G7 talks France Includes a video 3 min © 2026 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. France 24 is not responsible for the content of external websites.
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