"It is the first time in the entire history of the Fifth Republic (French) that the president of an opposition group in the National Assembly is summoned for such a serious reason," Panot said in a statement, warning "solemnly against this serious instrumentalization of the judicial system to gag political speech."

The investigation was opened following a statement by the LFI parliamentary group published on 7 October, the day of the unprecedented attack by the Islamist group Hamas against Israel, described as "an armed offensive by Palestinian forces" in the face of "the intensification of Israel's occupation policy" in the Palestinian territories.

The leader of the French radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, today denounced an "unprecedented event" intended to "protect genocide", after the summons of Mathilde Panot.

The news comes four days after the Franco-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan, seventh on the LFI list for the European elections, was summoned by the judicial police for "apology for terrorism".

"I think I have nothing to reproach myself for, because I have always expressed myself critically towards Hamas and its terrorist 'modus operandi', but also towards Israel," Hassan told AFP on Friday.

According to the summons, revealed by the newspaper Le Monde and consulted by AFP, Rima Hassan, a lawyer and specialist in refugee issues, was summoned to appear at the end of the month "in order to be heard freely on the charge of public defence of an act of terrorism, committed through an 'online' public communication service".

The alleged offences were committed between 5 November and 1 December, according to the document.

Last week, two conferences by the LFI leader with the participation of Rima Hassan, on the current situation in the Middle East, were cancelled in Lille, in the north of France, first at the university and then in a private room, with the French authorities invoking the risk of "disturbance of public order" due to the increase in international tensions.

Members of the left-wing party denounce the manipulation of the judicial system, claiming that they are being forced to pay for their support for the Palestinians and for using the term "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza.

The offensive launched by Israel in response to the Hamas attack has so far caused nearly 34,000 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Hamas, which has governed the small Palestinian enclave since 2007.

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