After 900 days in an Egyptian jail waiting for a proper trial, Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Nabil Shaath was released by Egyptian authorities on Jan. 8. Shaath was imprisoned in July 2019 along with other Egyptian activists. He is believed to have been jailed because of his activity as the Egyptian coordinator of the Boycott and Divestment Movement for Palestine (BDS). It was seen as a gesture done by the Egyptians to then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump. Shaath stayed in jail almost a year after both were no longer on the political map.

Shaath is the son of former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath.

But Israeli Ambassador to Paris Aliza Bin Noun left little doubt that Israel was supportive of Shaath’s imprisonment because of his role with BDS. Bin Noun tweeted that the welcome by French authorities to Shaath contradicted French law against hatred to Jews and Israel and that Shaath’s support for BDS constitutes just that. “Boycott and incitement to hatred of Israel and Jews are prohibited by French law,” stated the tweet shortly after Shaath’s arrival in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron had publicly called for Shaath’s release during a press conference with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Macron welcomed Shaath’s repatriation with his French wife, Cecile Le Brun. “I welcome the decision of the Egyptian authorities to release Ramy Shaath. I share the relief of his wife, Celine Le Brun, whom he finds in France, with whom we have not given up. Thank you to everyone who played a positive role in this happy outcome,” Macron said in a tweet in French.