France slammed on Friday the Israeli abduction of the Palestinian Education Minister, Nasser Ed Deen Al Sha’er, and 30 other legislators, ministers and officials, and demanded their immediate release after describing the recent violations and dangerous escalation.
Simono Doni, assistant spokesperson of the French Foreign Minister, stated that these abductions affect the future of the Palestinian Unity Government and directly affects the possibilities of resuming the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
Doni added that France is concerned about the increasing number of casualties, and called on all officials to resort to negotiations and stop ceasefire immediately.
Several days ago, the Israeli army kidnapped several political figures of Hamas in the northern part of the West Bank, including ministers.
An Israeli military spokesperson claimed that the Hamas officials in the West Bank encourage the firing of homemade shelling from the Gaza Strip into adjacent Israeli areas.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Information Minister, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, criticized these abductions and said that they are aimed at breaking the Palestinian unity, and described the Israeli attacks as acts of war.
On Wednesday night, the army kidnapped 33 legislators and officials loyal to Hamas movement. The Parliamentarian Group of the European Union in charge of relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, demanded Israel to have more restraint and to release all abducted officials since they represent a democratically elected government.
The EU called for resumption of cooperation with the Palestinian government and also called on the resumption of financial aid in order to enable the government to perform its duties.
