Israel's France envoy quits role ahead of far-right Netanyahu govt assuming power

The Israeli envoy to France said she was quitting her role, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government assuming power.

Yael German was given the ambassador role last year by Yair Lapid, then the foreign minister, who on Thursday was replaced as prime minister by a returning Netanyahu.

The diplomat sent the Likud party chief a letter and informed Israel's foreign ministry she was quitting, news website The Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

"The government you established and lead includes representatives of parties whose extreme positions are expressed in its guidelines, in its policies, and in statements on legislation – illegitimate legislation in my eyes – it intends to pass," she said.

German said she can't "lie to myself and continue to represent policies that are so radically different from what I believe in".

She previously sat in the Israeli parliament, representing Yesh Atid, centrist Lapid's party. She is also a former minister.

Netanyahu's new government has been widely condemned for including members with alarming track records.

Two parties to the coalition are Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power.

Both have a history of inflammatory remarks about Palestinians.

On Wednesday, Adalah, a legal rights group based in Israel that advocates for the Palestinian minority there, said the incoming government is "racing" towards deepening its apartheid policies.

The group made its comments after the government's guiding principles were released.

The document said: "The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel."

Adalah said: "The guiding principles, along with the coalition agreements, and the recent legislative initiatives, leave no room for doubt as to the direction in which the next government is racing: deepening its Apartheid policies and intensifying Jewish supremacy and systemic discrimination against Palestinians."

The principles also said the government will "advance and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel – in the Galilee, Negev, Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria".

It comes despite the Golan Heights being Syrian territory occupied by Israel and Judea and Samaria – referring to the West Bank – being Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.

Agencies contributed to this report.