France summons Israel’s ambassador over arrest of consulate staff in Jerusalem

The French Foreign Ministry has summoned Israel’s ambassador in the wake of last week’s temporary arrests of some of its consulate staffers in Jerusalem, local media said Monday.

Ambassador Joshua Zarka has been called to visit the ministry on Tuesday following Israeli security’s Nov. 7 arrest of two staff members of France’s Consulate General in Jerusalem, broadcaster BFMTV said.

The staffers were released after French Minister Jean-Noel Barrot intervened, and the ministry called the arrests “unacceptable,” noting that they took place even though the staffers had diplomatic status.

During a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories last week, Barrot was due to visit Eleona, a French national estate, the ministry said in a statement last week.

Saying that Israeli security forces “armed without authorization” entered the site, the statement added that Barrow “did not wish to visit the estate under these conditions.”