France denies entry for Israeli settler leader: What to know
The head of Israel's Samaria Regional Council settler organization claims that France turned him back at the Paris airport.
PARIS — Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council settler organization, said Wednesday that he was denied entry to France last week over his involvement in West Bank settlement construction.
What happened: According to a statement issued by the council Wednesday, French immigration authorities stopped Dagan for questioning upon his arrival at the Paris airport. After questioning him at length, they informed him that he would not be allowed to enter the country, the statement said.
A French diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of unanimity, “Mr. Dagan is subject to an administrative ban on entering French territory because of his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank. Settlement activity is contrary to international law and undermines the two-state solution.”
Background: Dagan is a prominent figure in the West Bank settlement movement. Most recently, he has led public diplomacy campaigns in Europe and the United States to counter international sanctions and boycotts targeting products from West Bank settlements.
In February 2024, France announced sanctions against 28 Israeli settlers accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank. Al-Monitor has repeatedly requested the list, but the French Foreign Ministry has not disclosed it. It remains unclear whether Dagan is among those sanctioned.
Asked by Al-Monitor, Samaria Council spokesperson Ester Aloush said Dagan had not been informed when the entry ban was issued. "That's a question only the French authorities can answer," she said.
In May 2026, France announced that it had barred National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country after he posted a video on Facebook of himself taunting bound activists detained by Israeli soldiers aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The video sparked international outcry.
Settler violence in the West Bank has escalated in recent years. The UN documented more than 800 attacks on Palestinians in the first five months of 2026, including assaults, arson and attacks on homes, olive groves and other property.
Why it matters: Relations between France and Israel have been seriously strained since the war in Gaza and Paris' recognition of a Palestinian state in 2025. More than 50 French citizens were killed in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
France has repeatedly criticized Israel over rising settler violence in the West Bank. On Sept. 8, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris would ban products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The same day, 11 other countries including Britain and Canada announced similar measures sanctioning trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
On Monday, the French National Assembly's Committee on Economic Affairs advanced a Socialist Party-sponsored bill that would prohibit imports of settlement products.
Another source of friction between Israel and Europe is the E1 settlement project, which critics say would cut east Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank. A construction tender was launched before the Oct. 27 election, but the bidding process was suspended after European and US pressure.
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