El Al offices in Paris, France, were vandalized on Thursday in what the company called a “harsh anti-Israel incident,” with the doors and walls of the building being sprayed with signs saying: “El Al genocide airline.”
The Israeli company decided to evacuate all its personnel from the French capital after the incident, with another foreign company providing services to customers at the terminal.
"The severe incident was discovered this morning and occurred while the building was empty, and there was no danger to the company's employees," the airline said in a statement. "El Al views the incident seriously and is working on handling the matter with the authorities, following the guidelines of the competent authorities in France and Israel. El Al proudly flies the Israeli flag on the tails of its planes and condemns all forms of violence, especially antisemitic violence."
Authorities were notified of the situation and opened an investigation. Transportation Minister Miri Regev commented on social media, “Today it's El Al, tomorrow it's Air France.”
“When French President Macron makes announcements that give gifts to Hamas, this is the result,” she criticized.
“I condemn the barbaric and violent act against El Al and expect the law enforcement authorities in France to locate the criminals and take strong action against them,” she concluded.
French-Israeli relations at an all-time low
The incident occurred after a series of decisions by the French government that eroded its relations with the current Israeli administration and the Israeli public in general.
The main issue was Macron’s posture on Israel’s war with Hamas, with the French president announcing his plans to recognize a Palestinian State.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,” Macron wrote on social media on July 25.