Following a deadlock in attempts to slap Israel with E.U. sanctions, the European Commission is working on a plan to restrict trade with Israel in connection with its presence in Judea and Samaria, according to diplomats cited by the Euronews website on Tuesday.
The nature of the restrictions envisioned is unknown, Euronews reported, but it quoted E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as focusing on what she called “trade with illegal settlements”—a disputed term referring to Israeli communities in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan.
Spain, Ireland and France are pushing for anti-Israel action by the European Union, according to the report. Other countries, including the Czech Republic and Germany, have blocked several attempts to pass formal sanctions, which requite consensus among the bloc’s 27 member states, the report said.
Despite this, the European Commission intends to propose a less direct form of sanction through trade.
The E.U. Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, said on Monday that given the strong push from some member states to punish Israel, the Commission would prepare some options before the next ministerial meeting on 13 July, according to Euronews. Šuica made the remark during a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, according to the report.
“Only products originating in Israel proper are granted trade preferences under the EU-Israel Association Agreement—products from Occupied Palestinian Territory are denied preferential treatment when imported into the EU,” a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.
Kallas, the E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has promoted several plans to punish Israel, but they stalled due to disagreements and objections, the report noted.
“On the issue of trade with illegal settlements, many member states called for proposals from the Commission. I will convey this request, and I will ask the Commission to prepare ahead of the next Foreign Affairs Council a list of options for possible trade measures, including measures aimed at preventing imports of goods originating from illegal settlements,” she told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday.
