Orange CEO Stephane Richard is planning to visit Israel in a bid to settle the controversy he stirred up last week when he discussed plans to pull out of the country.
Orange does not operate in Israel, rather it has a brand-licensing agreement with local player Partner Communi cations.
Despite recently extending said deal until 2025, Richard was quoted at a press conference in Egypt last Wednesday as saying he wanted to end Orange’s relationship with Partner and withdraw the brand from Israel as soon as possible.
"I would cancel the contract tomorrow if I could," he said, according to Egypt’s Daily News.
The comments whipped up a storm of controversy, with Richard accused of siding with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a pro-Palestine lobby group that seeks to exert economic and political pressure on Israel. Among the BDS movement’s grievances is Partner Communications’ practice of providing mobile service to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In a statement last Thursday, Orange insisted Richard’s comments related to business, rather than political interests, and reiterated the company’s plan to end its deal with Partner.
However, to make matters more confusing, Richard was also quoted by the AFP on Saturday as saying that not only did he sincerely regret the furore, but that the French incumbent’s brand would be staying in Israel.
Meanwhile, in a separate AFP report on Sunday, Orange confirmed that Richard has accepted an invitation from the Israeli government to visit the country in order to clarify any misunderstandings and settle the controversy once and for all.
