Sa’ar hails ‘diplomatic victory’ as EU says it’s holding off on sanctions over Gaza war

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announces that the EU opted not to adopt punitive measures against Israel over its military conduct in Gaza today, following a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the matter. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hailed the news as “an important diplomatic victory.”

Speaking to reporters after the Brussels meeting, Kallas repeats remarks made earlier today that while “positive signs” are emerging from Israel’s implementation of its agreement with the EU last week to increase aid to Gaza, “more concrete steps” are still needed.

“The European Union will keep a close watch on how Israel implements this common understanding and the pledges, and we’ll update the compliance every two weeks,” she says, adding that she had presented “an inventory of different measures that could be taken” if Israel does not uphold its commitments.

“We will keep these options on the table and stand ready to act,” she says.

Responding to the hold-off on sanctions, Sa’ar, who left Brussels this morning after attending a summit of EU counterparts yesterday, writes in a Hebrew-language post on X that Israel achieved “an important diplomatic victory” today.

Israel is “waging a complex, grueling, and multi-front diplomatic battle,” says Sa’ar, adding that “we successfully fended off all obsessive attempts by several states to impose sanctions on Israel within the European Union”— even as those same countries “have not proposed reviewing the EU’s agreement with the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families, or over the incitement in its education system.”

In February, PA President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree canceling controversial legislation within its welfare system that allowed payments to the families of slain terrorists and the families of security prisoners held in Israeli jails, and Ramallah appeared to be moving forward with the reform in May.

“The attempt to impose sanctions on a democratic country defending itself against efforts to destroy it is outrageous,” Sa’ar adds.

He thanks Israel’s allies in the EU who “stood by us and prevented harm to Israel—harm that would also have been a blow to the European Union itself,” and praises Israeli diplomats for leading efforts against such pressures.

Israel “will keep fighting for the justice of Israel’s cause and continue to strengthen its diplomatic ties. In the coming months, we will open additional embassies,” says Sa’ar.