EU eyes trade sanctions against Israel due to Gaza war
EU commissioners are expected to enforce new sanctions, primarily concerning trade, against Israel due to the Gaza conflict, Arab Weekly plus agencies reported on September 17th.
These discussions come as Israel intensifies its ground assault in Gaza. On September 14th at least 30 residential buildings were destroyed in the region.
EU Commission spokeswoman, Paula Pinho has said: “Tomorrow, commissioners will be adopting a package of measures on Israel. Specifically, a proposal to suspend certain trade provisions in the agreements between the EU and Israel.”
Israel’s ground assault in Gaza has led to concerns by the EU about the increasing toll of death and destruction and the worsening of an already “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis. According to local authorities Israel has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians since October 7th 2023, with at least 422 reported deaths being caused by malnutrition.
EU spokesman, Anouar El Anouni said: “The EU has consistently urged Israel not to intensify its operation in Gaza City. A military intervention will lead to more destruction, more death and more displacement . . .”
On September 16th, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said via X that the European Commission would meet on September 17th to talk about possible measures which include “suspending trade concessions and imposing sanctions on extremist ministers and violent settlers.”
The European Parliament previously passed a non-binary resolution backing EU chief, Ursula Von der Leyen’s proposal to drop bilateral support and partially discontinue the EU-Israel trade agreement.
However, analysts have said the measures will be difficult to adopt due to the divisions between the 27 countries in the EU regarding their stance on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Certain EU countries have consistently voiced support for the Palestinian cause such as Ireland, Norway and Spain who all formally recognised Palestine as a state in May 2024. Other countries have taken a pro-Israel stance, most notably Hungary, which announced on April 3rd that it would be withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has called on Von der Leyen to withdraw the proposal to curb trade relations between the EU and Israel. In a letter to the EU chief, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar warned “pressure through sanctions will not work.”
“This unprecedented proposal, which has never been applied to any other country is a clear attempt to harm Israel while we are still fighting a war imposed on us by the October 7 terror attack,” he added.
Lawmakers have also called for sanctions against Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Arab Weekly plus agencies, Maghrebi.org
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