Telecoms giant Orange announced today it is ending its presence in Israel, after agreeing to pay the Israeli mobile phone operator Partner Communications over €80m to sever ties between the two companies and take back control of its brand in Israel.
The agreement states that a large proportion of the €80.5m pledged by Orange will go towards funding the Israeli firm's rebranding as it will cease to use Orange name within 12 months. Partner had initially been expected to use the Orange brand until 2025.
Orange has vowed to continue to work within Israel, rebranding its own research and development operations in the country under its own name. According to Times of Israel, Orange has insisted that the new agreement has "nothing to do with a boycott of Israel".
The official confirmation of Orange's departure from Israel comes at the end of a less than positive month for the company's relations with Israel.
Following a report published in May which revealed that Partner had built more than 100 telecommunication antennas on occupied Palestinian land, Orange CEO Stephane Richard claimed the brand would withdraw from Israel.
Speaking at a news conference in Cairo in early June, Richard said he was willing to end the relationship with Partner "tomorrow morning", due to the Israeli company's operations in settlements on the West bank and Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian territory.
In a bid to patch up relations, Richard travelled to Israel just a few days later, saying that his words in Cairo had been "misinterpreted" and seeking to reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his firm's commitment to keeping its business operating in Israel. Richard said that Orange did "not support any form of boycott, in Israel or anywhere else in the world", according AFP.
Speaking to AFP about today's news, Pierre Louette, Orange's deputy CEO, said: "The discussions were pragmatic, conducted in a positive atmosphere, and the two parties reached a mutually satisfactory agreement."
Louette said in an official statement: "Israel is a strategically important country and we have a long-term commitment to it, including our innovation activities through the Orange affiliates in Israel."
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