Jerusalem does “not rule out” an extension of the truce with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza in exchange for the release of additional hostages, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday, speaking on the sidelines of the E.U.-Israel Association Council meeting in Brussels.
“It will not happen without the release of hostages. We are committed to the release of our hostages and to the war’s objectives that we set,” he declared, in reference to Israel’s commitment that Hamas will not play a role in governing the Gaza Strip.
Sa’ar traveled to Brussels on Sunday to discuss Israel-E.U. relations with his European counterparts, despite protests and legal action against him on disputed war crimes charges.
On the sidelines of the council meeting, Sa’ar met with counterparts from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia and Hungary.
Sa’ar said he raised the issue of the Iranian threat, stating that “now is the time for countries to enforce sanctions and to impose new sanctions on Iran—which poses a threat to the peace of the entire region.”
The 27 E.U. foreign ministers are set to discuss Iran’s destabilizing role in the Middle East, among other Middle East topics, during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday that will be followed in the afternoon by the first meeting in years of the E.U.-Israel Association Council.
According to a senior E.U. official who briefed reporters ahead of the council meeting, this session on Iran will be “closed’’ and restricted to the ministers.
The ministers are reportedly to discuss Iran’s military cooperation with Russia “that poses a direct threat to our security’,’ Iran’s arbitrary detention of E.U, citizens as well as the human right situation, Iran’s hybrid operations conducted on European soil, Tehran’s destabilization activities in the region, including Iran’s ongoing support for armed groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, and finally, Iran’s dangerous nuclear trajectory.
“Iran has now more than 30 times the amount of enrichment material foreseen in the JCPOA [the 2015 nuclear agreement] limits,’’ according to the senior EU official.
Sa’ar said on Monday that it was a “pleasure” to meet in Brussels Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, an institution of the European Union where Israel typically enjoys more support than in the executive branch.
Sa’ar called Metsola “a true friend of Israel” and said he’d “thanked the president for her strong support for Israel since October 7, [2023]. Sa’ar also stressed “that the Palestinian Authority continues its ‘pay for slay’ policy to terrorists and their families, as [P.A. chief Mahmoud] Abbas himself admitted. The E.U. must ensure that their funds do not contribute to these purposes.”
Sa’ar was referencing the Palestinian Authority’s longtime policy of paying Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel, and the families of slain terrorists, monthly stipends on a scale commensurate with the severity of their actions and sentences. Abbas recently promised to stop this practice, but skeptical critics said they expected it to continue.
“Gaza is part of the Palestinian future, also in the two-state solution. This is very clear and has always been the E.U.’s position, also in the support to the Palestinian Authority and to UNRWA,’’ said the senior official, who stressed that “the EU supports the first phase of the ceasefire [with Hamas] with the deployment of our civilian border mission monitoring EUBAM Rafah [at the Gaza-Sinai crossing].”
The E.U.-Israel Association Council
The E.U.-Israel Association Council is responsible for managing and steering the Association Agreement between Israel and the European Union. It convened online in 2022, but has not gathered in person for more than 10 years, partly because critics of Israel within the E.U. had blocked it.
The fact that the Association Council is gathering is a sign of improvement of Israel’s dialogue with the European Union under its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after much hostility toward Israel from her predecessor Josep Borrell.
“Monday’s Association Council is an important opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen the partnership between Israel and the E.U.,” Israel’s ambassador to the EU, Haim Regev, told Reuters.
At the meeting, the E.U. will emphasize both Europe’s commitment to Israel’s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza,” according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Amnesty Israel, which in December accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, protested against the hosting of Sa’ar for talks with the Association Council at E.U. headquarters.
“It is unconscionable that the E.U. is rolling out the red carpet for Foreign Minister Sa’ar whose boss, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, is wanted by the [International Criminal Court],” said Eve Geddie, director at the Amnesty International European Institutions Office.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in November for alleged war crimes.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, a local organization focused on lawfare against Israelis, has petitioned Belgian authorities to arrest Sa’ar upon arrival for “war crimes.” Authorities said they do not intend to act on the complaint. Sa’ar has dismissed the petition as “ridiculous” and having “no significance.”
The Association Council last convened online in 2022, but it has not gathered in person in years, partly because critics of Israel within the European Union blocked it.
Sa’ar is also slated to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“The convening of the Association Council Meeting is significant,” Sa’ar said on Sunday. “Israel is a pillar of stability and strength in the turbulent and unstable Middle East. Strong Israel-E.U. relations are in the interest of both sides.”
Ireland, an E.U. member state, has accused Israel of genocide. And Belgium, under its previous government, signaled its willingness to promote South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice. Germany was among the E.U. members that rejected the allegations.
Several E.U. countries, including Spain and France, have imposed an arms embargo on Israel in connection with its war against Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist group’s invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and abducted another 251.
The European Jewish Press contributed to this report.