As much international attention has been
focused on Hamas’s cross-border assault and Israel’s military massive
destructive retaliation on Gaza, European officials have expressed increasing
concern about Settler’s rising intensified assaults against Palestinians and
their properties in the occupied West Bank under the watch of Israeli forces.
اضافة اعلان
The European Union (EU), after weeks of
disagreements, has recently reached a ‘political agreement’ to sanction
extremist Israeli settlers.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell
said, “A solid compromise has been agreed at the working level and I hope that
this will be continued until full adoption soon, but the political agreement is
there,” he told reporters after the ministers met in Brussels.
During a meeting of the bloc's foreign
affairs ministers on Monday 18, the issue was thoroughly discussed to give
diplomacy a new chance.
"We discussed the sanctions (on)
Hamas. And we agreed on sanctions on extremist settlers. It was not possible at
the last Foreign Affairs Council. This time has been possible. A solid
compromise has been agreed at the working level and I hope this will continue
until full adoption soon," Borrell announced at the end of the meeting.
However, the devastating situation across the Gaza Strip and the continued reports of violence by Israeli nationals against Palestinians pushed for urgency in the talks, which further deepened after the US, the UK, and France went ahead and sanctioned some extremist settlers.
The sanctions have been in the works for
months and were initially held up by some countries, including Germany,
Austria, and the Czech Republic, who are strong supporters of Israel.
However, the devastating situation across
the Gaza Strip and the continued reports of violence by Israeli nationals
against Palestinians pushed for urgency in the talks, which further deepened
after the US, the UK, and France went ahead and sanctioned some extremist
settlers.
The US imposed sanctions on three Israeli
settlers and two illegal outposts implicated in the occupied West Bank
violence.
It
followed earlier sanctions against four extremist settlers in an executive
order signed by US President Joe Biden in February. The UK also announced
sanctions against a number of settlers the same month.
The two outposts targeted in the latest
round of US sanctions were Moshe’s Farm, also known as Tirza Valley Outpost,
established in January 2021; and Zvi’s Farm, near the Halamish settlement.
Besides, Hungary communicated intending to lift the opposition, raising hopes
for a new development.
The decision marked the first time that
the EU’s 27 member countries agreed to sanction violent Israeli settlers
although it is still not clear when the new sanctions would take effect.
“Today, we have approved, unanimously,
the sanctions against the violent settlers that harass the Palestinians in the
West Bank,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters after
the meeting.
On the other hand, the inclusion of
entire outposts in the sanction list marked an escalation by the Biden
administration in its crackdown on settler violence, after years of pushing
Israel to do more to address the largely unchecked phenomenon.
The occupied West Bank has been under
Israeli military rule since the 1967 Six-Day War, while the Palestinian
Authority (PA) has controlled parts of the territory since 1994.
The sanctions are "about specific people who have been identified as responsible for violent acts," Borrell told reporters, confirming the restrictions will consist of a travel ban and the freezing of assets owned in EU territory.
According to Palestinian figures, about
725,000 settlers live in 176 Jewish-only settlements and 186 outposts in the
occupied West Bank.
The sanctions are "about specific
people who have been identified as responsible for violent acts," Borrell
told reporters, confirming the restrictions will consist of a travel ban and
the freezing of assets owned in EU territory.
"What else can we do? We always
sanction individuals and organizations in the same way. "He said.
However, when asked about the names of
the blacklisted settlers, Borrell added: "Like the Quixote would say, I
don't want to remember."
Monday's 18th meeting of foreign affairs
ministers took place as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
released a new report showcasing the extreme gravity of the humanitarian crisis
in Gaza, where more than 31,726 Palestinians have been killed and 73,792
injured since the start of the Israeli offensive.
According to the IPC, "the entire
population in the Gaza Strip (2.23 million) is facing high levels of acute food
insecurity," with half the population under the category of catastrophe.
In the northern section of the enclave,
famine is ‘imminent.’ The military conflict, the scarcity of humanitarian aid,
and the limited access to food supplies, healthcare, water, and sanitation are
all factors behind the deterioration.
"The escalation of hostilities has
caused widespread damage to assets and infrastructure indispensable to survival.
About 50 percent of buildings - and more than 70 percent in the northern
governorates - have been damaged or destroyed," the report says.
On his part, before heading into the
meeting, Borrell painted a grim picture of the situation on the ground.
"Gaza was before the war the greatest open-air prison. Today it is the
greatest open-air graveyard. A graveyard for tens of thousands of people, and
also a graveyard for many of the most important principles of humanitarian
law," Borrell told reporters.
On his part, before heading into the meeting, Borrell painted a grim picture of the situation on the ground. "Gaza was before the war the greatest open-air prison. Today it is the greatest open-air graveyard. A graveyard for tens of thousands of people, and also a graveyard for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law," Borrell told reporters.
Borrell also said he would propose a
‘political orientation debate’ about the future of the EU-Israel Association
Agreement, which has been in force since 2000.
Last month, Spain and Ireland, two of the
bloc's most critical voices against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joined
forces and called for an ‘urgent review’ of the agreement. But during the
ministerial meeting, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and
Hungary came against the review.
Borrell admitted convening a formal
Association Council with Israel would be ‘certainly complicated’ and lacked
‘strong support.’ A more practical idea would be to invite Israel's foreign
affairs minister, Israel Katz, to the next meeting in Brussels.
Najla M. Shahwan, Palestinian author, researcher and
freelance journalist. Published thirteen books and a children story collection, Recipient of two prizes from the Palestinian
Union of Writers.
Disclaimer:
Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Jordan News' point of view.
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