France Bars Israeli Settlement Leader Yossi Dagan From Entry

France has denied entry to Yossi Dagan, the head of an organisation representing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. French authorities turned him back last week when he flew into a Paris airport, according to Al Jazeera.

French authorities said Dagan was subject to an administrative ban from French territory. An administrative ban is a restriction imposed by the government rather than ordered by a court. The French ministry linked the measure to his active role in implementing settlement policy in the West Bank. Dagan is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.

Israel objected strongly. On November 11, 2026, it denounced the entry ban as "completely unacceptable." Israel's foreign ministry said the measures against Dagan were based on political and ideological grounds. It said Israel would demand an explanation from the French government and consider its next steps.

The French ministry has set out its own position. It stated that building settlements is contrary to international law and undermines the two-state solution, the long-discussed goal of separate Israeli and Palestinian states. Settlements are Israeli communities built in the occupied territory, and their legal status is central to the dispute.

The ban on Dagan is not the only recent French step. In September 2026, France announced, together with 11 other countries, its intention to restrict trade with illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory. A French parliamentary committee, a group of lawmakers that reviews draft laws before a full vote, has since approved a bill that would ban imports of settlement goods and services that contribute to settlement construction. Further discussion is scheduled for November 19, 2026.

Earlier in 2026, France also banned two members of Netanyahu's cabinet, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, from entering its territory.