The Israeli government announced on Thursday that it would prohibit Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left French presidential hopeful, from entering the country. The decision follows a weekend speech in which Mélenchon said that, if elected, he would deploy French vessels to help force humanitarian aid into Gaza.
In a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry said the country would respond firmly to those it views as seeking to harm it. "Israel will respond firmly to those who seek to harm it and will not allow individuals who act against Israel and incite against its citizens to enter the country," the ministry said.
Israel also said it would refuse entry to Mathilde Panot, who chairs the parliamentary group of Mélenchon's France Unbowed party.
The move came one day after France confirmed that it had refused entry to the head of an organization representing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Mélenchon, a fierce critic of Israel with no apparent plans to travel there, said in his speech on Saturday that a France under his leadership would "act directly in support of the Palestinians" in both Gaza and the West Bank.
"French ships, like those of Italy and Spain, will escort, if necessary, the flotillas of citizens mobilised to affirm people's rights," he said.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, and it has imposed even stricter controls on entry points since the unprecedented Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which set off a massive Israeli military campaign.
A series of activist flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade. Some activists from a flotilla intercepted earlier this year alleged that Israeli authorities physically or sexually abused them while in custody, accusations the Israeli government has denied.
This is not the first time Israel has taken such a step against left-wing European politicians. It previously banned a number of British left-wing lawmakers, including Jeremy Corbyn, another outspoken critic of Israel, after London imposed sanctions on products made in settlements.
