The European Union is discussing sanctions against “certain Israeli ministers”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on Thursday that he had launched a process to ask member states if they wanted to impose sanctions on “certain Israeli ministers”.
Borrell told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Reuters reports: “I have started the process of asking member states whether they believe it is appropriate to include some Israeli ministers on our sanctions list.”
Borrell described the ministers as “sending unacceptable hate messages against the Palestinians and putting forward ideas that are clearly contrary to international law”.
Borel did not name any ministers.
For his part, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Martin said, according to Reuters: “We will support the recommendation to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers as well as organizations that support the expansion of settlements from the European Union.”
It is the first time a senior European official has spoken publicly about the move to impose sanctions on Israeli officials since the war in Gaza began last October, as two previous rounds of European sanctions have blamed Israelis and non-governmental organizations. “Practice of Violence” in the West Bank.
Europe is discussing imposing sanctions on Israel “for the first time”.
Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin announced on Monday that EU foreign ministers had “for the first time had an important discussion on imposing sanctions on Israel” if it does not comply with international humanitarian law, according to a report in the American magazine “Politico”. .
More than a month ago, the European Union announced sanctions against 8 Israelis, including “extremist settlers” and 3 organizations, for violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and for preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. .
A second set of sanctions imposed by the European Union includes asset freezes and visa bans, bringing the total number of sanctions subject to 14.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on an Israeli nonprofit and a security official in a West Bank settlement, in Washington’s latest attempt to punish settlers it accuses of extremism and violence against Palestinians.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the non-governmental organization Hashomer Yosh, which says it “helps protect settlers,” “provided tangible support to a settlement outpost established without permission in the West Bank that is already subject to sanctions.”
Miller said in a statement that the official was Itizak Levi Vaillant, a civilian responsible for coordinating security in the Itiza settlement, who led a group of armed settlers to conduct roadblocks and patrols aimed at forcing Palestinians to leave their land. .
Miller added: “Extremist settler violence in the West Bank is causing severe humanitarian suffering, harming Israel’s security and undermining prospects for peace and stability in the region.”
US Sanctions Against Israeli Security Officials and Organizations
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on an Israeli nonprofit and a Jewish security official in a West Bank settlement, the latest effort by Washington to punish Jewish settlers it accuses of extremism and violence against Palestinians.
The ban will be imposed under an executive order on violence in the West Bank signed by US President Joe Biden last February. The order was used to impose sanctions on Palestinian armed groups and Jewish settlers and their supporters.
The West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, has witnessed an increase in violence in the past year, particularly since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas (classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries) attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children. According to Israeli authorities.
In response to the attack, Israel vowed to “eliminate Hamas” and has since bombed the Gaza Strip, followed by a ground offensive since October 27, which has killed more than 40,000 people, most of them women and children, the Strip Health Ministry announced.