An Israeli cabinet minister on Thursday called on the French president to fire the chief executive of telecom giant Orange SA, a day after the CEO said that he'd like to end his company's relationship with an Israeli firm.

Israeli culture minister Miri Regev issued her appeal after Orange CEO Stéphane Richard on Wednesday said that Orange would cut ties with Partner Communications Ltd "tomorrow" if he could, but that he was bound by a contract for the time being.

Richard's remarks were made at a Cairo news conference in which he made a point of underlining his company's sensitivity to the situation of Arab countries.

Regev reacted to Richard's statement in a text message to AP, which read: "The French government must show zero tolerance for anti-Semitism." She also urged Jewish customers of Orange in France and around the world to drop their service and switch carriers.


Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, commented, “The absurd play in which Israeli democracy defends itself against rocket attacks and terror tunnels and takes automatic condemnation and boycott attempts will not be forgiven”.

He then called on the French state “to publicly renounce the unfortunate remarks and actions of a company partly owned by the French government".



The reactions were the latest in an ongoing spat that has focused on Orange’s relationship with Partner, an Israeli firm whose presence in the occupied Palestinian territories has angered critics.

In May, a handful of French nonprofits and two left-wing unions had condemned Partner, which has a license to use Orange’s brand, for contributing to the economic viability of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and called on Orange to sever ties with the Israeli company.

"Our intention is to withdraw from Israel. It will take time," Richard said at the news conference in Egypt, adding, "For sure we will do it."

"I am ready to do this tomorrow morning... but without exposing Orange to huge risks," he added, referring to the company’s legal and financial consequences.


Israelis pressure Paris to apologise

In the French capital, Israel’s Ambassador to France, Yossi Gal, on Thursday issued the Elysée Palace with a complaint related to what he said was the French government’s lack of response.

Partner’s CEO Haim Romano also questioned why Paris remained silent on the issue.
“Disturbingly, I have yet to hear condemnations from France’s heads of state of the statements by the CEO of France Telecom,” he said, while the group’s incoming CEO Itzik Benvenisti threatened a lawsuit over the remarks.

“Stéphane is under intense pressure from pro-Palestinian activists,” Benvenisti said. “We will consider suing him.”

Meanwhile, Partner staff responded by staging a Thursday afternoon protest outside Orange’s local offices in Rosh Ha’Ayin and covered the company’s logo with the Israeli flag.



'Taken aback'

Orange has previously said it inherited the contract with Partner, in which it holds no shares or voting rights, and that it has no influence over the Israeli firm's management and strategies.

A report by French aid organisation Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development suggested that Orange, with a quarter of its capital held by the French state, had flouted the government’s own guidelines on investing in Israel.

In June 2014, the French foreign ministry warned citizens against engaging in economic activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. Though not legally binding, that statement made it clear that Paris would frown upon French investments in the areas captured by the Israeli army in 1967.

The report said that Partner has built more than one hundred telecommunication antennas on confiscated Palestinian land, owns at least four shops in Israeli settlements, and benefits from Israeli-imposed restrictions against Palestinian telecommunication competitors.

Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely wrote to Orange’s Richard asking for clarification on his remarks on Wednesday.

"I must admit to having been taken aback by these reports, which do not become a responsible global company such as Orange," she said in a letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"I am confident that these reports do not reflect the intent of your company. I therefore urge you to clarify the matter as soon as possible."

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP)