00:00The President of the European Commission proposed punitive measures against Israel for the first time.
00:19In a rebuke to the Jewish state, Ursula von der Leyen criticized the military operation in Gaza,
00:26which she said has created a man-made famine.
00:30The European Commission proposed package of sanctions against Israel is the topic of this episode of EU Decoded.
00:43The proposed package of sanctions to be imposed on Israel by the European Commission includes
00:48suspending the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and reinstating tariffs
00:54that would correspond to an additional annual cost of 227 million euros for Israeli exports,
01:03halting transfers from the EU budget to the bilateral cooperation program amounting to
01:086 million euros per year scheduled for 2026 and 2027, freezing approximately 14 million euros
01:16earmarked for ongoing projects within the scope of EU-Israeli cooperation.
01:21Ursula von der Leyen's announcement comes just a few weeks before the second anniversary
01:27of the Gaza Wall.
01:28Following a string of attacks carried out by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on 7 october
01:352023, Israel launched a large military operation in the Gaza Strip.
01:40Let's see what Europeans think of the Commission's proposal.
01:44We need to make sure, let's say, to be aware of the dramatic humanitarian situation that
01:49is happening in Gaza, but I don't think it's a measure against Israel or against Israel in general.
01:53I doubt that it would be enough. It would be good to see, maybe more large, to prevent them from
02:01having weapons.
02:02The question is, what really does Netanyahu have a power and his possibility of his decision?
02:12We must also react with and despite our history on what happened in Gaza, and there are
02:2170,000 people who died.
02:23The news reporter Maya de la Bohm has been covering this issue.
02:28Hamas still holds around 50 of the 250 hostage it captured and Israel's military operation
02:35in Gaza killed almost more than 64,000 people.
02:40What prompts Ursula von der Leyen's decision to make this announcement almost two years into
02:46the war?
02:47I think there is a climax right now in terms of pressure.
02:51You have the United Nations on one side saying that there is a famine in the Gaza Strip.
02:57There is pressure from everybody, from NGOs, from countries.
03:02Everybody is telling Europe needs to act, and Europe is not acting.
03:07And there's one other factor I think is very important, is that Ursula von der Leyen is German,
03:11and it's very important because Germany has been so far blocking any possibility for the
03:18EU to really come up with sanctions against Israel.
03:21Indeed, in her announcement to Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that it would be difficult
03:27to get everyone on board to approve these sanctions.
03:32What is the situation among member states?
03:33To be honest, divisions are very, very deep in Europe.
03:36So you have on one side all of the countries who want to go forward with sanctions, who
03:42think that Palestine has a right to be a state.
03:46They believe in the two-state solution, and they want more action.
03:49And on the other side, you have all of the countries which also have historical ties with
03:55Israel, and I'm thinking about Germany, but not just Germany, Austria, I'm thinking also
03:59about the Czech Republic, all these countries that are keen to preserve their sacrosanct linked
04:07with Israel.
04:08Well, thinking that they might be able to overcome that division, what would be the impact on Israel
04:17of approving sanctions, notably the suspension of the trade component in the association agreement?
04:24Because the EU and Israel are close partners.
04:27These trade components require a qualified majority.
04:30And as you know, in the EU, qualified majority is a complex issue because you need large countries
04:35like Germany, like Italy, to agree and to vote for these sanctions.
04:40So if ever this happened, it would be, I would say, the end of a free trade agreement between
04:45the bloc and Israel.
04:47So concretely, it would mean maybe, you know, tariffs, custom duties, something that Israel
04:54never had with the EU.
04:55The measures include sanctions against two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel
05:01Smotrik, for inciting hatred.
05:04Sanctions will also be imposed on violent settlers who caused destruction in the West Bank.
05:09Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reacted to the European Commission's announcement by saying,
05:14it was unacceptable behaviour between partners.
05:17This month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for measures to end this
05:22conflict.
05:23We heard the views of two MEPs.
05:25It's the wrong moment because we have seen and we also said in our resolution that there
05:33was an improvement of the humanitarian situation.
05:37And I would like to have rather conditioned suspension or an incentivation of Israel than
05:44a punishing.
05:45It is a question that all of us are scratching our heads as to why there hasn't been any measures
05:50at all taken against Israel.
05:53And I do believe that if we had had measures earlier, I think that that would have sent a
05:57very strong message and would have probably saved thousands of lives if the EU had have
06:02acted earlier.
06:04We have to make sure that this new state of Palestine recognises the right of existence
06:17of Israel, because this is the main problem in the region, and that it doesn't harbor terrorists.
06:22Because we see actually also, I see also a little bit naive, a trust in the Palestinian
06:28authority.
06:29We see that they still pay terrorists for their deeds.
06:32I think the European Union should recognise the state of Palestine, but for me, you know,
06:37the key priority has to be to stop the killing.
06:40It has to be to get the aid in and the medicine into the people of Gaza, because we need a Palestine
06:46of Palestinians in order to have a state.
06:54I think we should be very careful also with, you know, with the terms like genocide, human
07:00rights violations, war crimes in addition.
07:04And I have the firm belief that we should leave this to the international courts to decide
07:09about it.
07:10And we should concentrate.
07:12And I think there's a big agreement on that to improve the humanitarian situation.
07:15It's so obvious that there's a double standard when it came to the treatment of Russia and
07:20nobody objected.
07:21You know, I agreed that sanctions need to be taken, it's an illegal occupation.
07:26But to then not do anything whatsoever in relation to the actions of Israel has just, I think,
07:34really damaged the European Union among citizens living within the EU.
07:39The European Union has historically advocated for the two-state solution with Palestine and
07:45Israel coexisting peacefully.
07:48Only 10 of the 27 EU member states have recognized Palestinian sovereignty.
07:53It remains to be seen whether Europe can act as the bloc to resolve the conflict.
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