Prominent Israeli settler denied entry into France

The head of an organisation representing illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has been denied entry into France. Israel denounced the move as “completely unacceptable” on Wednesday after prominent Israeli settler Yossi Dagan said French authorities turned him back last week when he flew into a Paris airport.

Dagan, who is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party , was “subject to an administrative ban from the territory due to his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank” according to his office. According to the ministry, Dagan was “pulled aside and questioned” at the airport’s passport control before being informed that he was banned from entering French territory “due to his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank.” Dagan said Wednesday that he was undeterred by the ban and was proud to “build the historic homeland of the Jewish people”, while Israeli’s foreign ministry said the measures against Dagan were based on “political and ideological grounds”.