The chief executive of French telecom giant Orange SA apologized to Israel's prime minister today for his recent comments on pulling out of Israel, saying he opposes the boycott movement against the Jewish state and will continue to invest in it.
CEO Stephane Richard stoked controversy in Israel last week after announcing he wanted to sever business ties with Israel as soon as possible, citing a desire to improve business relations in the Arab world.
"I regret deeply this controversy and I want to make totally clear that Orange as a company has never supported and will never support any kind of boycott against Israel," Richard told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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"We are doing business, we are doing communication, we are here to connect people, certainly not to participate in any kind of boycott. Israel is a fantastic place to be in the digital industry and of course our will is to strengthen and to keep on investing here," he said.
Richard's previous comments appeared to give a boost to the boycott campaign that seeks to isolate Israel. Orange has long been a target the anti-Israel campaign known as BDS because its local partner maintains a series of transmission towers in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Israeli media has pointed out that Palestinians, including many officials, use its services as well.
Israel has grown increasingly jittery as the movement appears to be gaining steam, claiming pro-Palestinian activists are out to "delegitimize" the right of the Jewish state to exist.
"We seek a genuine and secure peace with our Palestinian neighbors, but that can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions," Netanyahu told Richard. "It will not be achieved through boycotts and through threats of boycotts," he said.
