Israel calls on EU chief to drop proposed sanctions over Gaza offensive

Israel on Tuesday urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to withdraw a proposal that would curb trade ties in a bid to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.

"Pressure through sanctions will not work," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote in a letter to Von der Leyen.

The initiative, announced during her State of the Union speech last week, is due to be discussed Wednesday by the European Commission's College of Commissioners, which she chairs.

If approved, it would freeze the EU's bilateral support to Israel, halting all payments, while preserving cooperation with civil society groups and Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

According to the commission, the move would block future allocations of about six million euros ($7 million) annually and suspend disbursement of roughly 14 million euros for ongoing institutional projects.

The EU executive also plans to propose sanctions against "extremist ministers" and "violent settlers".

"This unprecedented proposal, which has never been applied to any other country, is a clear attempt to harm Israel while we are still fighting a war imposed on us by the October 7 terror attack," Saar wrote, referring to the Hamas-led assault on Israel that triggered the now two-year war.

He added that Israel had not been notified or consulted and warned the measures would "empower Hamas" and "jeopardise efforts to end the war".

Diplomats say the measures are unlikely to be adopted given deep divisions among the EU's 27 member states over Israel's conduct in Gaza.

Last week, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution endorsing Von der Leyen's proposal to suspend bilateral support and partially suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement.

Lawmakers also urged sanctions against Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which the United Nations deems reliable.

The UN has declared famine in parts of Gaza, a designation Israel disputes.

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