An advertisement posted in the Barbès neighborhood (XVIIIe) shows a photo of Valérie Pécresse with the inscription “Stop the genocide.” Accused of complicity in and financing a “genocide” by the Urgence Palestine association while the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues, the president (LR) of the Île-de-France region announced on Friday in a press release that she will file a lawsuit “for defamation and endangering the lives of others.”
The official also points out that “the Île-de-France region voted in November 2023 for two emergency humanitarian aids for civilian populations affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: one for Israeli victims of October 7, and one for the Palestinian populations in the Gaza Strip.”
Nearly a million euros in aid were provided, with a total of 500,000 euros in grants given “to meet the urgent and essential needs of Israeli civilian populations affected by the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 through the NGOs Magen David Adom and Latet, and 250,000 euros for civilian populations in Gaza through the NGOs Acted and Red Cross,” the municipality stated. “In addition, an additional aid of 100,000 euros was provided to UNICEF for the benefit of Palestinian children.”
The region emphasizes in its statement that “contrary to the fake news spread on social media by left and far-left activists, no aid money from the region went towards financing the Israeli army, as confirmed by the Latet association.” Latet notably provides tailored kits with essential food items and hygiene products.
The municipality reiterates, stating that “the purpose of the aid given by the region is purely humanitarian, and it is exclusively directed towards supporting civilian populations affected by the war, both Israeli and Palestinian.”
Valérie Pécresse denounces Urgence Palestine’s methods, accusing the association of being “complicit in the genocide in Gaza” through posters in Paris. She states that they are deliberately distorting facts for political manipulation and destabilization. In a context of high Islamist terrorist threat, the association is risking putting a target on the back of the regional president by spreading baseless fake news, the region emphasizes. Valérie Pécresse calls for such practices to be “severely sanctioned” by the justice system.
