The World Jewish Congress today applauded a French plan to combat radicalization and terrorism and urged the adoption of a law before France’s Parliament banning travel to Syria and blocking access to jihadist websites.
“Given the number of French citizens radicalized by their training on the Syrian battlefield, we urge France to act quickly and decisively to counter the threat of terrorism emanating from this group by instituting a travel ban and stopping jihadist recruitment,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. “We congratulate the government for adopting strong measures to ensure the integration of Muslims into French society and to isolate violent elements.”
France plans to ban citizens suspected of links to radical Islamic groups from leaving the country in a new bill aimed at strengthening anti-terrorist legislation. The draft bill unveiled on Wednesday would allow authorities to stop French nationals from traveling if they are suspected of having links to a jihadist network. It would also allow investigators to question and charge people with individual terrorist plans, often described as 'lone wolves'. The government is concerned to prevent attacks by individuals returning from Syria. Around 600 French nationals are in Syria to fight with radical Islamic groups or are planning to go there, according to the Interior Ministry. The plan is to be presented to the National Assembly in the coming weeks with an aim for a vote by the end of the year.
WJC’s French affiliate, the CRIF, hailed the measures as “a coherent plan of action against terrorism.” With a fatal terrorist attack several years ago at a Jewish school in Toulouse, a plot against a Jewish grocery in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, and the recent shootings at the Jewish Museum of Brussels by a French citizen that left four people dead, CRIF has repeatedly argued in favor of new measures to counter the terrorism threat.
The French Interior Ministry estimates that some 800 young French citizens have fought in jihadist battles, mostly in Syria.
