The European Union can finally close ranks and present a strong and united front on its foreign policy regarding the conflict between Israel and Gaza. European Union foreign ministers have agreed on sanctions against Israeli individuals and settler organizations currently occupying, by force, the West Bank, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.
According to Reuters, the sanctions package has been on the European foreign policy agenda for some time but was blocked for months by the previous Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán, who lost the elections last month. With this veto lifted, and according to European legislation, “it’s time to move from deadlock to action,” according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the EU had “arbitrarily and politically chosen to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political opinions and without any basis.”
“Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has decided to draw between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence,” he added.
European governments have expressed concern over reports of increased settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
