So some people might connect this with #Chirac’s famous “do you want me to go back to my plane?”. But let’s look at the specifics.
First, for those who missed, here is what everybody is thinking about: a similar incident with Chirac in 1996 which profoundly and positively influenced his image in the Arab world for decades:
But today’s exchange between Pres. Macron and the Israeli sec is a bit different. It not abt having enough space in the market like Chirac in the old city in 1996.
This is about access to Saint Anne Church. Why does it matter? This is a Catholic Church built in 1140 by the Crusaders and one of the four French territories in Jerusalem. It’s been given to France in 1856 by the Ottoman Empire to thank Paris for its support in the Crimean war.
Beyond just Sainte Anne, France is charged to protect holy sites and religious congregations in Jerusalem. This is based on a number of international agreements from the Ottoman time as well as the XXth century.
Why Pres. Macron is talking about “respecting the rules” ? Because, based on as a French territory, Israeli security are not supposed to enter it.
And this was the same reason why, after the incident in the market, #Chirac waited outside the Church in 1996 until the Israeli security got out.
Conclusion: everybody knows issues of sovereignty are very sensitive in #Jerusalem and it makes sense that a head of state recalls it. That’s why Pres. Macron ends “rules have been the same for centuries, I am not going to change them.” (End)
