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All European Union countries except Hungary jointly called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and urged Israel not to launch the planned attack on Rafah.
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Budapest has refused to agree to calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite pressure from other capitals, also undermining EU plans for collective sanctions against violent Israeli settlers. The proposals were first put forward in December, following a new wave of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
This was preceded by ten hours of intensive talks between EU foreign ministers on Monday, in which Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó blocked a consensus on both issues.
26 of the 27 EU states agree
In a rare move by the EU, 26 of the 27 member states isolated Hungary and issued their own statement calling for an immediate humanitarian pause that could lead to a “permanent ceasefire” in the besieged Gaza Strip, where some 29,000 Palestinians live. have since joined them. the war began, lives were lost.
The 26 nations also approved a declaration calling on the Israeli government to… planned military action in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million Palestinians have fled the war.
An attack on Rafah “would worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and impede the urgent provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.
International pressure is mounting on the Israeli war cabinet to abandon the planned ground offensive in Rafah, where Prime Minister Netanyahu claims to house the last Hamas fighters in Gaza.
A member of the war cabinet threatened on Monday to launch the offensive if the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were not released by Ramadan.
No common EU position on the Middle East conflict
The fact that the declarations were not adopted unanimously shows how difficult the EU fallsfind a common thread in the Middle East conflict.
“I know very well that there is no common EU position unless there is unanimity, but there can be a position supported by a sufficient majority,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell.
“Of course, this does not strengthen our position. Europe can only play a role if it is united,” he added.
In recent months, Budapest has threatened to use its veto power to delay or completely derail EU foreign policy decisions.
This forced the European Council creative ways to find a way around Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was asked to leave the European Council negotiating room in December so that other heads of state and government could decide to start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova without him.
The EU was also forced to delay approval of its €50 billion aid package for Ukraine by around seven weeks after failing to persuade Orbán to make concessions last December.
Sanctions against settlers?
Although the UK and US already imposed sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in December over attacks on Palestinian communities, the flat blocked by the EU for months.
Some Member States – notably the Czech Republic and Hungary – have refused to punish settlers under the same sanctions framework that applies to Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization in the EU, fearing that this would send a misleading political message. .
“It is not a good political sign when terrorists (…) are more or less in the same package with people who commit acts that are extremely politically motivated, but which cannot in any way be compared with terrorism,” said the Minister of Business Czech foreigners, Jan Lipavský. before Monday's meeting and stressed that his country did not completely block the sanctions package.
After the meeting, Lipavský was said to have expressed that Prague “in principle had no problem with the package”, but that another member state had stepped forward and “simply blocked the entire package of sanctions against the settlers”.
“Terrorist actions” of the colonists
The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he was urging member states to take action over what he called “terrorist actions” against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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“The West Bank is on the boil and if they don’t let people go to the mosques during Ramadan, the situation could get worse,” said Borrell.
In a sign that the patience of EU member states is running out, France unilaterally imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers last Tuesday and banned 28 people from entering France.
Belgium, Ireland and Spain have indicated that they would also be prepared to impose their own sanctions if the EU remains blocked.
“If there is no agreement, Spain will certainly apply these sanctions against violent settlers on its own,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Monday.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said: “If we can't achieve unanimity, we are ready to do it ourselves as a country. Ireland is ready to do that and I know other countries are also considering it.”
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The UN estimates that Israeli settler violence has increased significantly since the start of the war in Gaza, to an average of seven incidents per day, compared with three per day before the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
A real obstacle to the two-state solution
Over the weekend, Borrell told the Munich Security Conference that violence in the West Bank, where Israeli extremists are invading Palestinian territory, was the “real obstacle to the two-state solution,” the West's preferred solution to ensuring peace and lasting security in the region.
The EU hopes to play a role in negotiating a peaceful solution to the conflict, but its credibility is undermined by deep-rooted internal divisions among member states.
Borrell confirmed that the EU would continue to examine how to use sanctions against Israeli settlers as well as Hamas fighters for “human rights violations and sexual violence.”
“The decision is to continue the discussion on how to proceed in both cases,” he stated.
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