It was an insignificant incident in an insignificant corner of the world. At the center of the dispute was Marion Fesneau-Castaing, cultural attaché at the French Consulate in Jerusalem. She and some of her colleagues, most of them European Union diplomats, showed up in the Jordan Valley last week, on Sept. 20, to provide tents and other equipment to Palestinians whose village had been demolished by Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempted to prevent them from entering the area and handing out the supplies, but the diplomats were insistent. The atmosphere deteriorated quickly. Here a push, there a shove, here a curse, there a tug, and Fesneau-Castaing found herself sprawled on the ground. She claimed that the soldiers had been violent. According to her, and to the EU’s high commissioner on foreign affairs, who rushed to demand clarification from Israel and to condemn its actions, the soldiers had been violent.
Let’s be frank. We’ve seen IDF troops act violently under similar circumstances. In this particular incident, Israel responded that the French diplomat had slapped a soldier, that she had been the one who acted violently. There is even a short film clip that substantiates this claim, but it must also be admitted that the film clip is not entirely convincing. Fesneau-Castaing did extend her hand toward the border policeman’s face. She was obviously upset, but she barely hurt him. If that is all she did, he could have shown some composure and ignored her.
