The European Union Fails to Take Punitive Decisions Against Israel

SadaNews translation - Hebrew Channel 12 reported this Tuesday evening that the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers Council ended without taking any punitive measures against Israel.

The council was supposed to take several punitive decisions due to Israel's actions against the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip.

The Hebrew channel quoted Israeli officials, as translated by SadaNews, saying that all proposals presented at the meeting did not receive the required majority.

These same sources indicated the significant efforts made by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and senior officials in his ministry with many European countries to thwart any decision related to imposing sanctions on Israel.

Sa'ar met with several EU foreign ministers, as well as senior officials there, including the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas.

Kallas announced on Thursday that she had reached an agreement with Sa'ar to open more crossings and allow the entry of more food supplies.

It was expected that at least one proposal among ten potential measures would be adopted for discussion after it became clear that Israel had violated the cooperation agreement between the two sides based on human rights issues, especially in Gaza.

Among those measures were a complete suspension of the agreement, limiting trade relations, imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers, imposing an arms embargo, and halting visa-free travel to the EU. However, despite the growing anger over the destruction in Gaza, EU countries remain divided on how to deal with Israel, with diplomats stating that it is unlikely that ministers will make a decision or even discuss the details of these measures, as reported by Agence France-Presse.