French Court Rejects Ban on Paris Real Estate Expo Promoting Settlements

A French administrative court on Friday rejected a request by a pro-Palestinian association to ban an Israeli real estate exhibition scheduled for Sunday in Paris. The association had sought to prohibit the event, suspected of promoting properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. While the court acknowledged that the data presented by the association indicated participating real estate companies engage in practices "contrary to international law," it found the evidence insufficient to prove that real estate deals involving settlement properties would occur during the exhibition. The court cited the absence of "lists of properties to be offered for sale" as a reason for not perceiving an "imminent and serious danger." Judges also noted the exhibition organizer's assertion that all presented projects are located "exclusively within the territory of the State of Israel."

The 95th edition of the "Icube" real estate and investment fair is slated to take place at the European Jewish Center in Paris. The French-Palestinian association "Nidhal" had petitioned for the exhibition's ban or, at minimum, strict controls to prevent any promotion of properties in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The petition argued that marketing settlement units in Paris contributes to the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territories, a violation of international law and a war crime under French penal law.

In response to the ruling, the "Nidhal" association stated, "This battle is still at its beginning. For the first time, the issue of these exhibitions has been brought before a judge," announcing plans to appeal to the Council of State, France's highest administrative court. The association specifically highlighted the participation of "BH NDLAN," a company marketing apartments in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo and the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze'ev. They also pointed to the exhibition's official guide mentioning a "significant" financial "reward" for new settlers in "Judea and Samaria" (the Israeli name for the West Bank) and criticized the event's past ties with the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem.