Brussels – The European Union set its most difficult plan on Wednesday, which has so far pushed Israel to end the Gaza War, when the Palestinians fled in bulk from Israeli tanks, drones and soldiers who pushed deeper into the coastal enclaves devastated 23 months of war.
Kaja Kallas, head of EU foreign policy, urged 27 Member nations to increase tariffs to some Israeli goods and impose sanctions to Israeli settlers and two members of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and financing Minister Bezalela Smotrich. She also proposed a sanction of 10 Hamas leaders.
“We propose these measures to punish Israel or Israel, but they are actually trying to push the Israeli government to change the course and end human suffering in Gaza,” Kallas said at a press conference in Brussels. “The war must end, the suffering must stop and all the hostages must be released.”
Sanctions would freeze any of the European assets of individuals and ban EU travel.
The EU is the largest business partner of Israel, so tariffs could have far -reaching effects on the Israeli economy, which is already spewed by the cost of a long war. Approximately EUR 32 million in bilateral funds controlled by the European Commission would be immediately suspended. The Commission also supports Palestinian authority.
Israel denies that there is starvation in Gaza and says it allows sufficient humanitarian aid.
The proposed sanctions reflect the deteriorating relations between Europe and Israel. Last week, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen broke with her strong pro-Israeli attitude to call on European pressure on Israel during her Gaza military campaign.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar sent a strongly formulated letter von der Leyen, who accused her of authorizing the terrorist organization and promised that Israel would explode the European campaign.
“Pressure through sanctions will not work. The state of Israel is a proud sovereign nation and we will not bend ourselves with threats, while the Israeli security is at stake,” he wrote in a letter.
The EU 27-area has been divided over the last 23 months of the Gaza Strip. It is not clear whether the majority will agree to support sanctions and business measures.
Bloodshed in Gaza caused protests in more European cities, from Amsterdam to Barcelona, and supported the criticism of Brussels bureaucracy and its perceived inability to meaningfully push Israel to stop military operations and let more humanitarian aid.
The number of deaths in Gaza on Wednesday exceeded 65,000 Palestinians since the war, which began on October 7, 2023, according to medical officials in the enclave attack by Hamas on Israel.
“The proposed partial suspension is a carefully considered response to an increasingly urgent situation,” said Marošš Šefčovič, sales representative of the European Commission.
If enough EU countries agree, tariffs of about EUR 230 million will be slapped to 37% of EUR 15.9 billion total Israeli goods imported to the EU, Šefčevič said. The EU is currently not using any tariffs for this set of Israeli goods due to an association agreement.
The EU Diplomatic Corps review in June found that Israel had violated the component of this Human Rights Agreement called Article 2.
In the meantime, however, the Commission proposes to cancel the zero tariff preference for selected amounts of imported Israeli goods and instead returns to the tariffs of the World Trade Organization, which differs from 8% to 40% per individual goods.
The proposal followed with the announcement last week von der Leyen that he would seek sanctions and partial business suspension against Israel during his military campaign in Gaza.
European officials who talked about the background said that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and the increasingly violent settlement on the West Bank at the head of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich gave the sanctions “new dynamics”. However, they said that Israeli arms exports to the EU would remain unaffected by the EU.
This article was generated from an automated news agency without text modifications.
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