Josep Borrell urges all 27 member states to support measures against those accused of fomenting “hatred” towards Palestinians.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged the bloc’s 27 member states to impose sanctions on some Israeli ministers over their “messages of hate” against Palestinians.
Speaking to EU foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Josep Borrell said Israeli ministers had made statements that “clearly go against international law and constitute incitement to commit war crimes”.
He did not name the ministers. However, in recent weeks, Borrell has publicly criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for statements he called “sinister.”
“I have launched procedures to ask member states (…) whether they consider it appropriate to include in our sanctions list certain Israeli ministers (who have) sent unacceptable messages of hate against Palestinians,” Borrell told reporters.
“I think the European Union should have no taboos in using its toolbox – to enforce human rights,” he said.
Israeli ministers sparked international outrage after Smotrich suggested starving Gaza’s population to free Israeli captives held in the enclave.
Ben-Gvir has made several inflammatory statements against Palestinians. He recently said he would build a Jewish synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – Islam’s third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian identity – in occupied East Jerusalem if he could.
Diplomats said Borrell’s call for sanctions against ministers was unlikely to gain the unanimous agreement required from all 27 members to pass.
However, they said it indicated the level of anger among some European officials at the Israeli ministers’ comments.
The EU has been divided since Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7, which sparked Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic strongly defend Israel’s right to self-defense, blocking any attempt at harsh measures targeting the Israeli government.
Ireland, one of the EU’s most pro-Palestinian members and which joined Spain and Norway in recognizing Palestinian statehood in May, said Thursday it supported Borrell’s proposal for sanctions against Israeli ministers and groups that “facilitate” settlement expansion in Palestinian territory.
“It cannot be business as usual,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said, citing an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice last month that called on organisations like the EU to review their relations with Israel in light of the West Bank occupation.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said this week that she would fully support sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
Other ministers were less supportive of the initiative.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters on Thursday that Borrell’s proposal was “dangerous.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said sanctions would not be the “right way” to keep Israel at the negotiating table for a ceasefire in Gaza.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed reluctance to the proposal and said EU sanctions were already in place against violent Jewish settlers.
The European sanctions include a travel ban within the Union and the seizure of assets held in the EU.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said his country was working “tirelessly” with its European allies to prevent “anti-Israel decisions” at the foreign ministers’ meeting.
“Our message is clear: in a reality where Israel faces threats from Iran and its proxy terrorist organizations, the free world must stand with Israel, not against it,” he wrote on X.