“I didn’t cut off both ears or the tail.” Josep Borrell used a bullfighting comparison in response to the delays that EU foreign ministers have brought to their intention to sanction two of the most extremist Israeli ministers for the hateful messages they have launched against the Palestinian people. The head of European diplomacy is used to the governments of the 27, which are those who have the last word in international politics, putting an end to any trace of ambition in the response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the massacre in Gaza. And the inclusion of two members of the Israeli executive on the list of people sanctioned for violating international and humanitarian law has become the latest hobbyhorse of the Catalan politician in his attempt to give a more coherent response to the massacre before leaving his post this autumn.
“There is a process, it is launched, the work teams will analyse it, the lawyers will intervene, we will analyse the seriousness of what they said or did and the member states will decide. But I have a responsibility and a capacity, and I used them to put on the table what, in my opinion, had to be done,” Borrell defended at the press conference after the informal meeting with foreign ministers last Thursday. Foreign policy decisions require unanimity, which seems complicated in the community club, where interests and balances towards Israel reveal Europe’s double standards in the face of conflicts such as the one in the Middle East.
Borrell asked the foreign ministers to stop “having taboos” to sanction the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who said that “it could be right and moral” to starve the Gazans “to free the hostages”, and to hold responsible for national security, also the ultra Ben Gvir, who advocated the creation of a synagogue on the Esplanade of the Mosques, one of the most sensitive sites on the planet and the third most important place for Islam. “They send unacceptable messages of hatred against the Palestinians and propose things that clearly go against international law and constitute an institution allowing war crimes to be committed”, recalled the high representative.
Support from Ireland only
However, the possibility of sanctioning these two members of Netanyahu’s government was greeted coldly by the foreign ministers. Although the common sentiment was one of dismay at the massacre in the Gaza Strip and the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel, the only one who supported the measure proposed by Borrell was the representative of Ireland, Michael Martin.
“The movements in the West Bank and the unbearable and unacceptable level of violence in Gaza are very serious. Spain, both at the national level and by supporting European sanctions, has imposed sanctions on violent Israeli settlers,” Minister José Manuel Albares simply said, referring to the revision of the EU-Israel association agreement requested by Madrid and Dublin six months ago. to use “the full range of measures (…) to restore peace in the Middle East.”
However, this initiative is also mired in lethargy. It took the EU three months to take the first step due to lack of support. Following the ruling of the International Court of Justice that ordered Netanyahu to paralyse the operation in Rafah and Israel’s decision to ignore this mandate, a sufficient majority was obtained within the EU to summon the foreign minister of that country and thus increase the pressure. In early June, Borrell sent a formal appeal, but there has been no further movement so far and EU sources doubt that Israel will accept the “invitation”. In any case, several member states, including Germany, are wondering whether this appeal will become a “court”.
Export of arms
And for most European capitals, Israel is an inexorable partner. Hence the reluctance to take steps to challenge Tel Aviv and, in most cases, the EU has even followed the US, for example when it comes to imposing sanctions on violent settlers. The rupture of the trade agreement is therefore unthinkable in the EU, where there is no question of paralyzing arms sales to Israel, as the United Kingdom has announced.
Some countries, such as Spain, have decided not to grant new licenses, although the export of contracts signed before the Hamas attacks of October 7 has continued. Since then, Spain has also allocated 1,027 million euros to purchase arms from that country.
In the case of arms exports, the ball is in the governments’ court. “The competent authorities of the Member States will take the final decision to authorise or refuse an individual export or transit licence for military equipment,” Borrell said in a written reply to former IU MEP Manu Pineda. “The Council, through its competent working group, is working towards greater convergence between the arms export policies of the Member States. This includes the exchange of views on the application of the criteria of the Common Position. In particular, the impact of the conflict in Gaza on the national arms export policies of the Member States remains permanently on the agenda and Member States are confidentially exchanging information on their respective approaches,” the High Representative’s reply added.
The head of European diplomacy has been in the crosshairs of the Netanyahu government from the first moment and the proposal to impose sanctions on its most extreme members has also provoked an angry reaction. Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen, who previously held the Foreign Ministry, accused Borrell of “hypocrisy”. “Borrell, who transfers money to the Palestinian Authority, an organization that pays the murderers of Jews and encourages terrorism, wants to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers who work in the fight against terrorism,” he said on the social network X (formerly Twitter). This is the umpteenth clash between Israel and the head of European diplomacy, who has been trying until the last moment to get the EU to increase pressure on Tel Aviv to stop the killings in Palestine.
