“I have not cut off the two ears and the tail,” he says ironically about the lack of support for his proposal
BRUSSELS, Aug. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has assured this Thursday that he will put the European Union to work to apply sanctions against two Israeli ministers for “human rights violations”, despite the fact that the member states have received the proposal coldly and have not reached an agreement to formalize this initiative.
“There was no unanimity. We just discussed, but I will use my capacity as EU High Representative under the treaty to make the proposal and I will take it to the technical services to put these ministers on the sanctions list for human rights violations,” Borrell said at the end of the informal meeting of European foreign ministers held in Brussels.
After arguing that the EU should not have “taboos” and should use its sanctions to punish Israeli ministers who “incite hatred” against Palestinians, in reference to the Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and the head of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, the head of European diplomacy has insisted on moving forward with the technical work and studying the cases of both. “According to the circumstances, the ministers will make a decision,” he added, pointing out that the EU countries will have to defend their position on these sanctions.
All this after the Member States have cooled the idea of putting members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Executive on the ‘blacklist’. According to Borrell, within the EU there are “opinions for all tastes”, although he has even made an ironic comparison with bullfighting to say that “he has not cut off two ears and the tail”.
“There is a process underway and the services will study it and the lawyers will intervene,” he said, defending his “responsibility and ability” to take steps in this initiative.
Borrell has, however, obtained an agreement from the 27 to organise a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next month in New York to discuss the situation in Gaza. “I have a commitment from the Arab partners and the United States that they will attend,” he announced, assuring that all parties, including Israel, will be invited to move forward on a solution to the crisis.
He argued that the “complexity” of the situation in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza, the rise of violence in the West Bank and the threat of the conflict spreading to Lebanon, “should not paralyse” the international community, but rather “spur” it on to advance initiatives to comply with the rules of international law.
LACK OF SUPPORT FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAELI MINISTERS
The reality is that among the European ministers, only a few have supported Borrell’s initiative, such as the Irish minister, Micheal Martin, who has shown himself in favour of sanctions against organisations that promote the expansion of settlements and against members of the Israeli government, or the Slovenian foreign minister, Tanja Fanon, who has called for “thinking about sanctions against leaders in Israel who violate international law and considering more trade sanctions.” “Of course, everything needs consensus in the EU,” she admitted.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that Germany is not ruling out the possibility of sanctions against members of Netanyahu’s government, according to statements reported by the DPA agency. Diplomatic sources indicate that Berlin is not closed to the possibility of sanctions given the seriousness of the statements by the Israeli ministers.
In contrast, many other countries have avoided giving their support to the measure, thus making it more difficult to move forward. In the case of Belgium, Minister Hadja Lahbib has indicated that the option of punishing ministers of the Israeli government is on the table, but has indicated that Belgium supports “sanctions against leaders of terrorist organisations such as Hamas and against violent settlers.”
With its usual belligerence, Hungary has attacked Borrell for making “reckless proposals” regarding the Middle East, with Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto saying that the initiatives, including the idea of sanctioning two ministers, are “extremely dangerous and irrational.”
Sweden’s Tobias Billstrom acknowledged the “growing problem” of extremist violence in the West Bank. “We take it seriously and are looking at how to respond to restore order and ensure that Palestinian civilians are not attacked,” he said, suggesting the option of sanctioning more violent settlers but avoiding singling out members of the Hebrew government.
“The movements that occurred yesterday in the West Bank are very serious, as is the level of violence, which is absolutely unbearable and unacceptable,” said the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, who defended the EU using the instruments at its disposal against Israel within the framework of the Association Council, as requested by Spain and Ireland, something that was agreed at the level of the 27 before the summer but which has not yet materialized.
In this regard, Albares stressed that the EU must “use the full range of measures” at its disposal to bring peace back to the region, but did not address the specific issue of imposing sanctions on Smotrich and Ben Gvir.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that “the real priority” must be to achieve a ceasefire and not to apply sanctions to Israeli ministers. “The problem will not be resolved with the theoretical recognition of Palestine or with sanctions against Israeli ministers,” he said, calling for more diplomacy to convince Israel to agree to a ceasefire rather than a temporary solution to the crisis.
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