EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday he will urge the bloc’s 27 member states Thursday to back sanctions on Israeli ministers accused of fomenting “hatred” towards Palestinians.
“I initiated the procedures in order to ask the member states… if they consider appropriate, including in our list of sanctions some Israeli ministers (who have) been launching unacceptable hate messages against the Palestinians,” Borrell told reporters.
Speaking at the start of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Borrell said the individuals targeted had made statements that go “clearly against international law and is an incitation to commit war crimes”.
“I think that the European Union has not to have taboos in order to use our toolbox — in order to make humane law respected,” Borrell said.
Diplomats say that Borrell’s plan specifically targets two prominent far-right leaders in Israel: Itamar Ben Gvir, the country’s minister of national security, and Bezalel Smotrich, the minister of finance.
Smotrich’s suggestion that starving two million Gazans might be acceptable in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners held in Palestinian territory has caused a commotion around the world, and Ben Gvir has come under fire for a number of provocative remarks and acts.
Given the division among EU nations following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by militants led by Hamas and Israel’s response strike on the Gaza Strip, Borrell’s proposed sanctions are unlikely to be implemented.
The top EU diplomat emphasized that no decisions will be made at the casual meeting on Thursday.
Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic are among the EU countries that staunchly defend Israel’s right to self-defence, blocking any attempt at tough measures targeting the Israeli government.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters that Budapest considered Borrell’s proposal “dangerous”.
Sanctions would not be “the right path” to keep Israel at the bargaining table, according to his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.
Meanwhile, Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, expressed hesitation over the plan, pointing out that the EU had already imposed penalties against violent Jewish settlers and that any additional action would require unanimous consent.
Travel to the EU is prohibited as part of European sanctions, and property held within the EU is seized.
