EU turn on Israel: sanctions on violent settlers
High Representative Kallas: 'It was time to move from impasse to action'. However, there is no agreement to impose tariffs on goods from the settlements
from our correspondent Beda Romano
BRUSSELS - The Israel issue continues to cause divisions among the Twenty-Seven. Yesterday the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement to sanction the most extremist Israeli settlers, as well as some Hamas leaders. The hypothesis of suspending trade relations with the Jewish State in certain economic sectors, however, remains too controversial in the eyes of many member states. In the meantime, the European Union is re-establishing ties with Syria.
"It was time to move from stalemate to action," said High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Kaja Kallas after the ministerial meeting, referring to the decision to sanction the most extremist Israeli settlers - precise details on the new measures were missing last night. The decision came unanimously from the member states. Hungary, which had been blocking the decision for some time, changed its position with the arrival of new Prime Minister Péter Magyar in power.
According to information gathered on the sidelines of the meeting, Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose names had been included in an initial draft of the sanctions, were removed in order to obtain the consent of the member states. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar criticised the European measures, calling them "arbitrary and political", adding that "the unacceptable comparison the EU has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists" is "outrageous".
Numerous international bodies have long been highlighting the escalating violence in the West Bank, where young Palestinians are being killed with increasing regularity in a context marked by arson, vandalism and displacement of farming communities. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 40 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, including 11 at the hands of settlers, a record number, two more than in all of 2025.
On the other hand, yesterday's ministerial meeting failed to agree on possible trade sanctions against Israel. While the suspension tout court of the association agreement with the Jewish state would require unanimity of the Twenty-Seven, ad hoc trade measures could be taken by qualified majority. The High Representative summed up yesterday: "Many countries want further sanctions against Israel. Many countries do not want further sanctions against Israel'.
