France is working with several European countries to adopt coordinated sanctions against Israelis accused of being involved in violence in Judea and Samaria, according to several European diplomats. Measures considered could include asset freezes and travel bans.
This initiative comes in a context of growing tensions around violence involving Israelis and the expansion of settlements. According to the diplomats cited, the lack of consensus within the European Union to adopt common measures has led several states to consider coordinated national sanctions.
“There is no unanimity at the European Union level, so we moved to discussions at the national level,” said one of the diplomats. An announcement could come in the coming days.
According to several diplomatic sources, the United Kingdom and Norway are among the countries participating in discussions with Paris, even if the final list of states involved has not yet been finalized.
Tensions are particularly focused on the Israeli E1 project, east of Jerusalem, which several Western countries consider to be a “major obstacle” to the creation of a future Palestinian state.
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa’ar, had already denounced in May the European sanctions targeting Israeli citizens and entities, accusing the European Union of acting in an “arbitrary and political” manner.
This diplomatic offensive comes a few days before a meeting organized on June 12 in Paris, which will bring together representatives of Israeli and Palestinian civil society as well as a dozen foreign ministers. France intends to keep the Israeli-Palestinian question at the forefront of the international agenda, while regional conflicts in Lebanon and with Iran mobilize the attention of the international community.
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