60 European Lawmakers Urge EU Sanctions on Israel Over West Bank Actions
Translated & summarized from Arab48 by baba
Sixty European Parliament lawmakers have urged EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to call for sanctions against Israel due to its actions in the West Bank. The lawmakers cited Israel's blockade and home demolitions in Hebron following the killing of two soldiers as "collective punishment" and a potential war crime. They called for an EU condemnation, troop withdrawal, and an emergency meeting to discuss sanctions. These actions occur amid a broader escalation of Israeli military and settler actions against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Sixty European lawmakers urged EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to discuss sanctions on Israel.
- The lawmakers cited Israel's West Bank blockade and home demolitions as "collective punishment."
- They described Israel's actions as a war crime aimed at solidifying occupation and escalating tensions.
- The call follows the killing of two Israeli soldiers in Hebron on October 23.
- The lawmakers demanded an EU condemnation and an emergency meeting on sanctions.
- These events coincide with a broader rise in Israeli military and settler actions in the West Bank.
Sixty European Parliament lawmakers have called on the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, to convene an urgent meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers to discuss imposing sanctions on the Israeli government. The lawmakers, from various political groups within the European Parliament, sent a letter to Kallas on Monday evening. They stated that Israel imposed a blockade on the occupied West Bank following the killing of two Israeli soldiers in Hebron on October 23. The lawmakers described Israel's actions in the West Bank as "collective punishment," asserting that the Israeli government uses this tactic, which they deem a war crime under international law, to solidify its occupation of Palestinian territories and escalate tensions ahead of Israeli elections. The letter highlighted the demolition of Palestinian homes in Hebron, with some families given as little as five minutes to evacuate. They warned that these events represent a "critical turning point for the future of the West Bank and the viability of a Palestinian state." The lawmakers emphasized that the European Union "cannot remain silent" regarding what they characterized as a widespread Israeli assault on the West Bank. They urged the bloc to condemn Israel's actions, call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank, and hold an emergency meeting to agree on sanctions against the Israeli government. The Israeli military launched an operation in Hebron on Friday after a Palestinian attack killed two soldiers and wounded three others. The military subsequently killed the attackers. Since Friday, the Israeli army has imposed a lockdown on Hebron and surrounding villages, arresting 85 Palestinians between Friday and Monday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club. These events coincide with an increase in attacks by the Israeli military and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since October 2023.