Slovenia's New Prime Minister Signals Sharp Shift Toward West Bank Settlers

Slovenia’s incoming prime minister, Janez Janša, met last week in Ljubljana with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan in an official diplomatic meeting. Afterward, the two issued a joint statement in which Janša said, "God bless the residents of Judea and Samaria," and Dagan replied, "We stand together, and we will win together." The meeting followed Janša’s announcement that his new government had canceled the previous cabinet’s decision to restrict imports from Judea and Samaria.

The encounter was described as a precedent, the first time a sitting European Union prime minister has met an official representative of Judea and Samaria. It also came after a series of early moves by Janša’s government, including canceling the arms embargo on Israel and taking other steps that signal a change in policy. A video released after the meeting showed Janša using the term Judea and Samaria rather than "West Bank."

Dagan and Janša have been in regular contact for years. After Slovenia’s last election, they met in Ljubljana before the new government was formed, and they have also held meetings and tours in Samaria and in the Slovenian capital. Until about a month ago, Slovenia was seen as one of Israel’s most hostile European partners, alongside Spain and Ireland. In May last year, it formally recognized a Palestinian state, and in the summer it imposed an unprecedented ban on imports from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and on arms trade with Israel, becoming the first European country to approve such an official boycott.

The article also says Dagan has spent the past two years campaigning against EU sanctions on Israel and senior officials, building ties in Hungary under Viktor Orban’s government and later expanding that effort to other European countries. According to diplomatic sources, he is now seeking European and American legitimacy for Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and trying to block recognition of a Palestinian state. Separately, Reuters reported that the EU will not sanction National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for now because foreign ministers could not reach consensus. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, "Many countries wanted to impose sanctions on Ben Gvir, but there was no consensus for the move."