JERUSALEM (AP) - French telecom giant Orange SA's declaration it wants to cut business ties with Israel has given a boost to the burgeoning anti-Israel boycott movement while also drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
The move bodes poorly for Israel at a time of growing international anger over its West Bank settlements and could potentially put almost any Israeli company in the crosshairs of the boycott campaign. It also has illustrated just how deeply intertwined Israeli settlements are with the rest of the country.
Netanyahu responded angrily on Thursday, calling on "the French government to publicly repudiate the miserable statement and miserable action by a company that is under its partial ownership."
The remarks came a day after Orange's chief executive Stephane Richard said he would end his company's relationship with Partner Communications Ltd. "tomorrow" if he could, but he was bound by a contract for the time being. He cited the company's sensitivity to Arab countries. Partner licenses the Orange brand name in Israel.
Richard's announcement caused uproar in Israel.
"The absurd drama in which the democracy that observes human rights - the state of Israel - and which defends itself from barrages of missiles and terrorist tunnels, and then absorbs automatic condemnations and attempted boycotts, this absurd drama will not be forgiven," Netanyahu also said.
Pro-Palestinian activists in France have been pushing for Orange to end the relationship over Partner's activities in Israeli settlements. The settlements, built on land the Palestinians want for a future state, are seen as illegitimate by the international community.
With Richard's comments, Orange appeared to becoming the largest and best-known company to yield to pressure from a global movement calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
Israeli officials say the so-called BDS movement is not out to promote peace, but instead aims to "delegitimize" the country's very existence as a Jewish state. They point to the grassroots BDS movement's support for millions of Palestinian refugees to return to ancestors' homes in what is now Israel. Israel rejects the "right of return," saying it would end the country's character as a Jewish and democratic state.
In a statement issued in Paris, Orange said it sought to clarify it wants to pull out of Israel for business reasons, not political ones.
The company said it doesn't want to maintain a presence in countries where Orange itself is not a phone provider, and that the move is "in conformity with its brand policy." Orange said it "has no reason to take part ... in a debate of a political nature."
Other Israeli officials also denounced Richard's comments.
Culture Minister Miri Regev called on the French government to "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.
The French government, which did not immediately comment on Richard's announcement, has good relations with Israel and accusations of anti-Semitism are a sensitive issue - especially in the wake of attacks by Islamic radicals who killed 17 people in a kosher supermarket and a satirical newspaper in January. France is home to Western Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities and has sought to maintain good ties with Israel's government as well as Arab allies.
At the same time, the BDS movement has been active in France, and staged a protest at Orange's annual shareholder meeting last month. Activists have also called attention to activities in Israel of French companies Danone, L'Oreal, hotel chain Accor and energy company Veolia.
Orange, one of the world's largest telecom companies, provides mobile phone services in about 30 countries. It said it has about 200 million customers worldwide, and declared revenue last year of $44 billion. The French government holds a roughly 13.5 percent stake in Orange.
The BDS movement has been showing increasing signs of traction. Several high profile artists have canceled performances in Israel and the movement has also become increasingly popular on U.S. college campuses.
"The boycotters of Israel are not looking ... to partition the land of Israel, but to erase the state of Israel," Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said this week. "This is anti-Semitism under a new guise."