EU foreign policy chief admits he lacks votes for sanctioning Israeli ministers
Borrell says ‘the process has been launched,’ but doesn’t have unanimity needed for bloc-wide designation of Smotrich, Ben Gvir; member states can still act individually
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell admitted Thursday that the bloc did not have the unanimity necessary to slap sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers for “hate messages” against Palestinians in Gaza.
Borrell told reporters in Brussels that he had asked EU foreign ministers gathered there earlier in the day to consider imposing sanctions on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich but conceded that some in the bloc were not on board with the initiative.
“The ministers will decide. It’s up to them, as always. But the process has been launched,” he said, adding that the sanctions would continue to be debated.
Though he did not name either of the Israeli ministers, Borrell has in recent weeks publicly accused Ben Gvir and Smotrich of making “sinister” statements that amount to “an incitement to war crimes.”
Borrell said he had proposed that the Israeli ministers be sanctioned for violations of human rights. EU sanctions generally mean a ban on travel to the bloc and a freeze on assets held in the EU.
Diplomats say it is unlikely the EU would find the necessary unanimous agreement among its 27 members to impose sanctions on Israeli government ministers. However, member states can impose sanctions individually.
Borrell’s decision to float such a proposal indicates the level of anger among some European officials over the words and actions of some far-right ministers.
Even ministers from some countries that are strong allies of Israel, such as Germany and the Czech Republic, did not immediately shut down the sanctions discussion in comments to reporters on the sidelines of Thursday’s meeting.
Ireland, one of the EU’s most pro-Palestinian members, said it backed Borrell’s suggestion.
“We will be supporting Josep Borrell’s recommendation for sanctions in respect of settler organizations in the West Bank who are facilitating [the] expansion of settlements, and also to Israeli ministers,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said.
But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani dismissed the idea. “We have to resolve the problems, convince the Israelis to make the choices that will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said. “This is the real priority.”
Smotrich and Ben Gvir both oppose a hostage deal that would end the war sparked when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Both ministers have made controversial statements about the war. Smotrich on August 5 suggested foreign powers were preventing Israel from starving Gazans even though it might be “justified and moral”; Ben Gvir has called on the government to “encourage emigration” from Gaza and resettle it with Jews.
According to Haaretz, no European country has official relations with either Smotrich or Ben Gvir, mirroring Washington’s boycott of the two far-right ministers.
The White House — which on Wednesday issued its sixth batch of sanctions targeting settler violence in the West Bank — considered sanctioning the two ministers in late July but was later said to back away from the idea.
