French security officials arrested in diplomatic incident in Jerusalem

Israeli police briefly detained two French security officials as part of a diplomatic incident, leading to the cancellation of a visit to the site by the French foreign minister.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had planned to visit the site of France’s Eleona Church in Jerusalem during a visit to the region to calm tensions in the region.

However, he said the visit to the site was canceled “because Israeli security forces entered with weapons without prior French authorization, without agreeing to leave today.”

On site he described the situation as “unacceptable”.