France to halt Gaza arrivals pending probe into student's antisemitic posts
"No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation," Jean-Noel Barrot told Franceinfo radio.
All Gazans who have entered France will undergo a second screening, he added.
France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the latest war between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel started, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.
The conflict, triggered by Hamas's murderous October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has seen Israel retaliate with a deadly military campaign and an aid blockade in Gaza that some rights groups have qualified as "genocide".
Lille's chief prosecutor told AFP on Thursday a probe had been opened against the student for allegedly trying to "justify terrorism" and "justify a crime against humanity".
Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September -- published by pro-Israel accounts on X -- include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews.
The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down.
A French diplomatic source said the student arrived in France on July 11 on a scholarship based on "academic excellence" and after "security checks".
AFP was not immediately able to reach the student for comment. The news agency is not identifying her at this stage of the investigation.
"She must leave the country", the foreign minister confirmed, adding that discussions were ongoing to determine her destination.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Far-right German MP's ex-aide on trial for spying for China
The German national Jian Guo allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while working in the office of then-MEP Krah between 2019 and 2024. He is accused of using that position to pass on more than 500 documents, some deemed highly sensitive, to Beijing as well as information about decisions and debates at the European Parliament. Guo is also accused of being the handler for a second alleged operative, a Chinese national partially named as Yaqi X., who is accused of spying on German arms manufacturers. Prosecutor Stephan Morweiser told reporters that the case was "without precedent" in terms of Chinese spying activity in Germany. He said it was "particularly serious" as it shed light on "the extensive espionage interests that China has in relation to political, military and economic matters in Germany and the EU". Guo is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. Guo's lawyer denied the charges on his behalf as the trial opened. The second defendant, Yaqi X., worked at a company which provided Leipzig airport with logistics services and is accused of helping Guo access information on flights and passengers. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and "people with links to a German arms company". According to German media reports, she particularly targeted arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. Morweiser, the prosecutor, said that, if found guilty, Guo faces a jail term of up to 10 years while Yaqi X. could be imprisoned for up to five years. In recent months, several cases of alleged espionage for Moscow and Beijing have been made public in Germany. The trial of three German-Russians suspected of passing information to Russia and planning acts of sabotage targeting aid to Kyiv is also underway in Munich. AfD 'power struggle' Both defendants in the Dresden trial have been in detention since they were arrested last year. The trial could be particularly embarrassing for the AfD if it leads to the information Guo collected on the anti-immigration party becoming public. According to news weekly Der Spiegel, investigators have seized records that Guo kept of conversations with Krah and other AfD politicians in which they discussed the private life of party co-leader Alice Weidel and alleged power struggles with her colleague Tino Chrupalla. Krah denied to the magazine ever having discussed such matters with Guo. Krah was the AfD's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS. However, he was welcomed back into the AfD fold for this year's German general election and now sits as one of the party's MPs in the Bundestag. The trial is expected to last until the end of September and Krah himself has been called to appear as a witness. Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time as a member of the European Parliament. According to Der Spiegel, between 2019 and 2023 he received more than 50,000 euros ($57,900) in payments from firms linked to Guo. Krah denies all wrongdoing and says the accusations against him are "politically motivated".
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
The only solution for Gaza and the hostages? International pressure
New unbearable footage has been added to the months-long account of the ordeal Palestinians in Gaza have suffered. This time, the videos, released by Hamas on July 31, show two Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. Ever since they were abducted on October 7, 2023, the two hostages have been held captive in the maze of tunnels the Islamist militia organization built to shield itself from bombardment, regardless of the cost to civilians. These latest shocking and obscene displays of the war crime that is hostage-taking follow similar images that appeared during hostage releases in January and February, which were made possible by a ceasefire at the time. They confirm that Hamas has been completely discredited since committing the barbaric attack 22 months ago, and can no longer claim to play any role in Gaza once the guns finally fall silent. The footage also serves as a reminder that, by itself, war cannot achieve the result sought by the ruling coalition in Israel: the total and definitive eradication of Hamas. Such an outcome can only be reached by opening up a political process that will delegitimize the group's bloody extremism – a fanaticism echoed by Israel's far right, notably when it contemplates ethnically cleansing the narrow strip of land, before, surely, doing the same to whole parts of the occupied West Bank. This outcome is precisely what more than 500 Israeli former senior security officials have advocated. In a statement titled "Stop the Gaza War!" published on August 4, they argued that Israel's main war goals have already been met and that the last remaining objective, freeing the remaining hostages, can "only be achieved through a deal." The end of the conflict also means ending the instrumentalization of famine against the Palestinians in Gaza, a famine of which the hostages are also victims. It would require the resumption of aid operations entrusted to United Nations agencies that have proven their competence, unlike the current improvised Israeli-American humanitarian organization, which has had a disastrous track record. Boosted by their prestige, the former senior officials did not address their appeal to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but to the president of the United States, Donald Trump. They confirmed that nothing can be expected from Israel's coalition government, which unilaterally ended the painstakingly negotiated cease-fire in January. They also said that pressure, when applied by Israel's powerful American ally, is the only way to force Netanyahu to yield. Their strong message, accompanied by a video in which a former director of Israel's security services stated that the Gaza war "stopped being a just war" and "is leading the State of Israel to the loss of its security and identity," deserves to be heard. When these figures call for the establishment of a "regional-international coalition that helps the Palestinian Authority (once reformed) to offer Gazans and all Palestinians an alternative to Hamas," they are, in their own way, supporting the joint initiative launched by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving the two-state solution. No one can be satisfied with a ceasefire that offers no diplomatic prospects. Internationalizing the Israel-Palestine conflict by mobilizing a coalition of the willing is now a necessity.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
'Sinwar killed peace': Grandson of Israeli hostages urges 'to work back towards path' to peace
10:43 05/08/2025 Israeli PM Netanyahu seeks to expand Gaza operations Middle East 05/08/2025 Israel to partially reopen Gaza private sector trade as Netanyahu prepares updated war plan Middle East 05/08/2025 Amid desperation in war-torn Gaza, 'environment of fear, intimidation and worry in West Bank' Middle East 04/08/2025 Videos of Israeli hostages in Gaza increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu for a ceasefire Middle East 04/08/2025 Israel wants world attention on hostages held in Gaza Middle East 04/08/2025 More Gazans die as aid fails to reach most needy Middle East 04/08/2025 Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Donald Trump to help end Gaza war Middle East 04/08/2025 Lebanon marks 5 years since Beirut port blast Middle East 04/08/2025 Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel opens humanitarian corridors, halts airstrikes Middle East
