An unprecedented joint open letter signed by 102 former French and British diplomats calls on French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to impose joint sanctions on Israel. The signatories, including former UN envoys Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, accuse Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in the West Bank and the "erasure" of Palestine. They urge both nations to suspend trade agreements, halt arms transfers, and ban trade with illegal settlements to safeguard the rule of law and keep the two-state solution alive.
Former diplomats' joint letter
- ▪A group of 102 former French and British diplomats published an open letter in Le Monde on August 22, 2026, calling on French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take joint action to uphold international law in Palestine.
- ▪The signatories of the open letter include 52 former French diplomats and 50 former British ambassadors, including former envoys to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry.
Israeli settlement expansion
- ▪The former diplomats' letter was published two days after the United Kingdom, France, and nine other countries condemned the Israeli government's publication of construction tenders for the E1 settlement project.
- ▪United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned the senior Israeli diplomat in the UK, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, to protest the construction tenders for 1,200 homes bisecting the West Bank.
Ethnic cleansing accusations
- ▪The open letter accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing, citing Palestinian house demolitions and rampant settler violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank occurring with the connivance of the Israeli army and police.
- ▪The former diplomats state that the world no longer views Israel as a genuine democracy because there is nothing democratic about depriving others of their rights and land.
Proposed sanctions on Israel
- ▪The former diplomats call for a suspension of all arms transfers to and from Israel, bilateral military cooperation, and a ban on all trade with Israeli settlements.
- ▪The letter demands unrestricted humanitarian aid access to Gaza led by UNRWA and other international agencies, alongside access for journalists, diplomats, and parliamentarians.
- ▪The open letter urges France and the United Kingdom to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement over human rights violations.
Gaza ceasefire violations
- ▪The former diplomats state that two million Palestinians in Gaza are kettled into 30 percent of their devastated land, lacking food, medicine, and housing.
- ▪The open letter states that over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
Historical Middle East responsibility
- ▪The former diplomats argue that France and the United Kingdom have a historical responsibility to act because of their decisive role in shaping the modern Middle East and their post-World War I mandates.
- ▪The letter notes that France and the United Kingdom recognized the State of Palestine in 2025, a step that the diplomats argue must now be made real through urgent action.
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