Against Israeli ministers: EU foreign policy chief calls for sanctions

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has submitted a proposal to the governments of the 27 EU states for sanctions against Israeli government members. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are to be punished, as several EU officials confirmed to the German Press Agency shortly before an EU foreign ministers’ meeting this Thursday.

Both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have recently caused outrage with statements against Palestinians and are right-wing extremist coalition partners of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In addition, both are advocates of the settlement policy in occupied territories in the West Bank, which the highest UN court considers illegal.

Israeli ministers want to use halt to aid deliveries as a weapon

Ben-Gvir recently spoke out in favor of stopping aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in order to force the terrorist organization Hamas, which is ruling there, to give up. Finance Minister Smotrich made similar comments. He described a possible blockade of aid supplies until all Israeli Hamas hostages were released as moral and justified, even if this meant the starvation of two million people in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli figures, Hamas currently has 107 hostages in its power. At least a third of them are presumed dead. In total, Palestinian terrorists kidnapped more than 250 people from Israel to the coastal region on October 7 last year. Around 1,200 people were killed in the unprecedented terrorist attack. Israel’s army responded with devastating attacks in Gaza, in which, according to Palestinian sources, more than 40,000 people have already been killed.

According to Borrell’s proposal, the sanctions against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir could be imposed for incitement to hatred and human rights violations. Accordingly, they would have to have their assets in the EU frozen and would no longer be allowed to enter the EU.

Is the EU foreign policy chief’s initiative counterproductive?

However, it is still unclear whether and, if so, when the proposal will be implemented. The background to this is that sanctions decisions in the European Union must be made unanimously and countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary have so far been rather critical of calls for sanctions against Israel.

Diplomats in Brussels cite ongoing efforts to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East as an argument against sanctioning the ministers. Against this background, it could be counterproductive to endanger channels of communication with the Israeli government through sanctions, they say. So far, the EU has only imposed sanctions on a few radical Israeli settlers and their structures.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Platform X that evening: “We are working tirelessly with our European allies to prevent anti-Israel decisions at tomorrow’s meeting of EU foreign ministers that are being pushed by anti-Israel elements.” In view of the threat to Israel from Iran and “its proxy terrorist organizations,” the free world must stand by Israel and not turn against the country.

Pressure on the EU is growing

Calls for the EU to change course in its dealings with Israel have recently become louder. Shortly before the EU foreign ministers’ meeting, the human rights organization Amnesty International called for tough European sanctions because of Israel’s settlement policy.

In a letter to the participants, Amnesty International advocates a comprehensive arms embargo and a ban on investments in certain Israeli companies and banks. The organization also recommends that the EU ban trade in goods from Israeli settlements in occupied territories. This should also include East Jerusalem.

The human rights activists cite the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, published in July, as the reason for their demands. In this opinion, the highest UN court takes the view that Israel’s occupation is illegal and must be ended as soon as possible.

Israel conquered and occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. The Palestinians claim these territories for their own state. Although Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005, it continued to control the land, air and sea borders. The Gaza War following the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 has significantly increased tensions.