The mayor of a French town was barred from entering Israel after the Dublin mayor sneaked in due to a cultural mishap last week.
By HAGAY HACOHENUpdated: APRIL 16, 2018 20:03France and Israel flags(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Mayor of Gennevilliers Patrice Leclerc, which is a suburb of greater Paris, was barred from entering Israel on Monday when attempting to enter the country from Jordan after Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri issued an order not to allow him in.In January Leclerc, who is a member of the French Communist party, officially recognized Palestine as a state using his powers of mayor, reported La Figaro.This is not the first time he was barred from entering Israel, as, in November, the known BDS supporter was not allowed in the country for a visit with other mayors who wished to show support of Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti, now serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prison.On April 11th, Israeli authorities failed to prevent Dublin Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha from entering the country, despite Deri issuing a similar order, because his name was misspelled in the papers submitted to the ministry.The mistake had been in providing Donncha's name as Ardmhéara Mícheál MacDonncha, as it appears on the website of the Dublin City council.The word Ardmhéara is Gaelic for "mayor" and does not appear in MacDonncha's passport or ID, making it impossible for the Israeli border control to carry out the order.MacDonncha responded to the news of him not being allowed to enter the country with a tweet from the Palestinian city of Ramallah informing the world of his presence.