Hawzah News Agency- The shifts are likely to pave the way for long-delayed sanctions against violent settlers in the occupied West Bank, and add to broader pressure for the EU to reconsider its relationship with Israel over its wars in Gaza and the wider region.
“Hungary’s veto was the only thing preventing the package of sanctions against violent settlers,” said Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, the director of the Israel-Europe relations programme at the Mitvim thinktank and a lecturer at the European forum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ireland, Spain and Slovenia – among the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian cause in Europe – have called for a discussion of Israel’s human-rights obligations under its association agreement with the EU, when EU foreign ministers meet on Tuesday.
“The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines,” wrote the foreign ministers of the three countries in a letter to the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, referencing “unbearable” conditions in Gaza and “escalating violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank.
Although sanctions on settlers are seen as a mostly symbolic move against a small group with few ties to Europe, passing them could strengthen confidence to consider broader action, including suspending parts of the deal underpinning EU-Israeli ties.
Many Europeans calling for stronger action against Israel say core European values are at stake, and failure to act will undermine the international rule of law.
Source: The Guardian
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