After several frustrated attempts, the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven agreed this Monday to sanction several Israeli settlers accused of violent acts in the West Bank, a decision that will allow half a dozen people to be vetoed from entering community territory and freeze their assets in the Union. .
Although the initial list of people included 12 names, it was finally reduced to 6 at the request of Hungary, the same country that in February prevented the measure from being agreed at the European level, diplomatic sources explained. Spain is one of the countries, along with France, that, in the face of the EU’s indecision, adopted measures in the same direction at the national level. For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the decision is “good news.” The EU also adopted sanctions against two Hamas members accused of acts of sexual violence during the October 7 attack.
In parallel, regarding the request from Spain and Ireland to analyze whether Israel complies with the human rights requirements included in the association agreement between the EU and Israel, the high representative of EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, informed this Monday Ministers that community services are considering what kind of actions they could propose, including partial suspension. Spain’s proposal to summon the Government of Israel, Israel Katz, to give explanations before the bilateral association council, however, was discarded.
During the conference on humanitarian aid held this Monday, Borrell hesitated to accuse Israel of using hunger “as a weapon of war” by hindering the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, while thousands of kilos of food accumulate on the other side of the Egyptian border. food. “Before the war, Gaza was the largest open-air prison in the world. Today it is the largest open-air tomb in the world,” and a tomb “for many of the most important principles of humanitarian and international law,” he added. Katz replied to Borrell that he stop “attacking” his country.
