Terror in Diplomatic Guise: How the French Consulate in Jerusalem Operates Against Israel - by Itai Reuveni

Supporting terrorists, attacking soldiers and police and funding extremist organizations. The case of an official representative of France caught smuggling arms from Gaza to Judea and Samaria is the latest in a long chain of problematic activity

Itai Reuveni..
MiDA..
10 April '18..

When reports surfaced in the international media of a serious security incident involving an employee of a foreign consulate stationed in Israel, my first guess was that there was a good chance that the French consulate in Jerusalem was involved.

Apart from its role as the official diplomatic representative of France in Jerusalem and the various services it provides the city’s residents, consulate employees themselves have recorded a very problematic history over the years with regards to their attitude towards the country that hosts them. This is not the first time they have taken an active part in the struggle against the State of Israel.

The details of the incident were clarified in an official statement by the Israel Security Agency (ISA) – Roman Frank, a driver with the French consulate in Jerusalem, who holds a diplomatic passport and is therefore entitled to immunity and ease of checking at border crossings, was arrested after a weapons smuggler from Gaza was apprehended in Judea and Samaria.

Frank took advantage of the diplomatic license plates in the vehicle he used to easily pass through checkpoints and roadblocks, smuggling in dozens of weapons in return for payment. Several collaborators from Israel and the Palestinian Authority were arrested along with him.

He received the weapons in Gaza, from a civilian employed at a French-funded cultural center, defined as a kind of official cultural attaché of France in Gaza. In one case, Frank received $700 in exchange for six guns. In another case, when 17 guns and rifles were transferred, the consular worker received a sum of NIS 10,500 for the smuggling.

Problematic Activity


This serious incident, where an official representative of a foreign government assists terrorist activity, joins a long list of cases in which French consulate employees were involved in problematic activities.

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Itai Reuveni is Director of the Israel desk with NGO Monitor.

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