De Gaulle's presidency and Israeli–French relations
Jan. 8 marked the proclamation of Gen. Charles de Gaulle as the first president of the new Fifth Republic in France in 1959. Retiring president, M. René...
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There's more to history than Jewish history. This gives information about the Suez Crisis and the 1967 war. Here's a brief excerpt.
He criticized Israel’s capture of Arab lands after the 1967 war, warning the Israelis that their continued presence as an occupying power would only breed “oppression, repression and resistance.”
For those frustrated with the stalling tactics of successive Israeli governments, France’s comprehensive withdrawal from Algeria in the early 1960s – which involved the repatriation of 1 million French settlers – made optimists hope that a putative Israeli de Gaulle might one day trade land for peace but unfortunately, to date, no courageous prime minister has really grasped the nettle on this issue.
Palestinians also draw inspiration from de Gaulle, though of an earlier incarnation as the national liberator who, despite lacking material resources and being reviled as a terrorist by his adversaries, managed against all odds to create a powerful resistance movement and embody his people’s aspirations to self-determination and sovereignty.
The warm relations
Relations between France and Israel had been especially warm in the 1950s as France was losing its colonial grip on Algeria. Although France joined Britain and the United States in 1952 in the Tripartite Declaration, banning arms sales to the Middle East, France soon began secretly supplying Israel with weapons, including tanks and warplanes and ultimately facilities for a nuclear weapons program. The two countries had signed in 1953 a modest nuclear cooperation agreement covering heavy water and uranium production.
By 1956, the France-Israel connection was so close that, with Britain, they plotted a joint war against Egypt known as the infamous Suez Crisis.
In the following years, the two countries collaborated closely on security matters. France supplied advanced weaponry to Israel when no other country was willing to do so. The relationship remained unchanged when de Gaulle regained power in 1958.
France sold Israel Mirage fighter jets, which are the most modern aircraft available to France, and the general staffs of both countries continued to work together on a variety of subjects. De Gaulle himself was considered a supporter of Israel, and David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, regarded him as a friend.
France shifts its policy
French-Israeli relations began to cool with the accession of de Gaulle as president of France’s Fifth Republic. The breaking point for de Gaulle was when Israel began the 1967 war against Egypt, Jordan and Syria. On May 24, President de Gaulle had prophetically warned Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban and urgently implored Israel not to attack but Israel ignored him and attacked on June 5.