Macron faces off with Israeli forces at Jerusalem al-Quds church

French President Emmanuel Macron has confronted Israeli forces during a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.

News ID: 448587

Date: 23 January 2020 - 22:51

RNA - The French tricolor has flown over the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem's walled Old City since it was gifted by the Ottomans to French Emperor Napoleon III in 1856.

France views it as a provocation when Israeli police enter the church's sandstone complex, in a part of Jerusalem al-Quds occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Wednesday's incident was a case of deja vu all over again. In 1996, former President Jacques Chirac lost patience with Israeli agents at the same church, telling one of them that his treatment was a "provocation" and threatening to get back on his plane.

Chirac refused to enter St. Anne until Israeli forces left the site.

Video showed Macron, jostled in the center of a crowded circle between his own protective detail and Israeli forces, including several forces in uniform, under an archway leading into the church.

Macron then stopped the shoving and shouted at the Israeli forces in English, "I don't like what you did in front of me."

Lowering his voice, he then said, "Go outside. I'm sorry, you know the rules. Nobody has to provoke nobody."

An Israeli spokesman did not immediately provide comment on behalf of the Shin Bet internal security agency, which also helps guard foreign dignitaries.

French diplomats had cautioned that they want to leave little room for mishaps on Macron's trip. Earlier on Wednesday, a separate squabble ensued when Israeli forces tried to enter St. Anne ahead of Macron's visit.

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