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France Halts Visa Renewals for El Al Staff Amid Growing Airport Worker Protests Targeting Israel Flights
Illustrative: The Israeli flag carrier El Al’s airliner lands at Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 31, 2020. Photo: WAM/Handout via REUTERS
France has reportedly halted visa renewals for security personnel of the Israeli airline El Al amid rising diplomatic tensions, as airport workers in both France and Belgium escalate protests and boycotts against the airline’s flights.
After multiple media reports revealed a six-month delay in renewing stay permits for El Al security personnel in Paris, the Israeli embassy called on French authorities to address the problem, with both governments now engaged in talks to resolve the matter.
The affected staff are Israeli citizens working as ITAN personnel — security employees attached to Israel’s diplomatic missions — for the airline’s Paris operations.
The delays have left some agents in France without legal status, while others have sought temporary diplomatic visas through the Israeli embassy or returned to Israel.
In a separate incident on Monday, El Al made headlines once again after an air traffic controller at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” at one of the airline’s inbound flights during its final approach.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, working closely with Israeli counterparts to ensure a swift and appropriate response.
“El Al takes very seriously the incident that occurred last night, in which a French air traffic controller addressed the company’s pilot in an unprofessional and inappropriate manner,” the Israeli airline said in a statement.
“El Al will continue to fly around the world with the Israeli flag proudly on the aircraft’s tail, while ensuring professionalism and the safety and security of passengers and crew,” the airline continued.
Last week, El Al’s Paris offices were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti and pro-Palestinian slogans spray-painted on walls and doors, including messages such as “Palestine will live, Palestine will win,” “To hell with Zionism,” and “Genocidal airline El Al.”
The Israeli Embassy in France attributed the attack to “a climate of violent and unchecked incitement by some French elected officials,” though it did not specify any names.
France, which has experienced a record surge in antisemitic incidents amid the ongoing war in Gaza, has lambasted Israel for its military campaign against the terrorist group Hamas, announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state. Israeli officials have described the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”
In another incident, airport staff at Brussels Airport are demanding a suspension of Brussels Airlines flights to Israel, citing the alleged “genocide” in Gaza, as the airline prepares to resume service to Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday.
Airport staff have pledged to boycott flights to Israel “until the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank comes to an end.” Local unions representing the workers have called on the airline to exempt employees from assignments involving Israel “for moral reasons.”
These latest incidents come amid a wave of reports across multiple airlines involving targeted harassment of Jewish passengers and coordinated efforts to boycott Israeli carriers.
This week, a Jewish passenger aboard a JetBlue flight was reportedly served a kosher meal labeled with the slur “Zionazi.”
In a press release, JetBlue confirmed it launched an investigation to determine which flight was involved, emphasizing that no complaints or reports have been filed by customers so far.
“We have zero tolerance for hate, bias, or discrimination,” the statement read. “If we determine that any individual associated with JetBlue or our catering partners was involved, we will take swift and appropriate action.”
In a similar incident last week, a Jewish passenger on an Iberia Airlines flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid discovered “Free Palestine” written on their kosher meal tray, prompting the Spanish airline to launch an investigation.
In a separate incident, Spanish airline Vueling faced backlash last month after forcibly removing a group of French Jewish teenagers from a flight from Valencia to Paris, allegedly for singing in Hebrew.
The forced removal of the group has triggered political outrage in France, after their group leader was handcuffed by Spanish police and a government minister insulted the teens as “Israeli brats.”
The Spanish low-cost airline denied the allegations, insisting the incident was not related to religion but rather that the group was removed because of its members’ “highly combative attitude that was putting the safety of the flight at risk.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.