EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has stated that a bloc-wide ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements would be a “principled position” for the European Union.
In an interview with the Irish Times published on Friday, Kallas compared the situation regarding illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank to the Russian occupation of Crimea.
“If we take the example when Crimea was occupied, it was very clear: it is illegal, we don’t recognize it, and that means we stop trading any goods coming from Crimea,” Kallas said. She added that the EU should maintain the same principled stance regarding occupied territories: “you know, it is illegal, everybody agrees on that, so we should stop trading with the occupied territories.”
Israel’s reaction and EU divisions
The Mission of Israel to the EU and NATO called Kallas’s remarks “deeply regrettable.” The mission stated that on the eve of the Jewish New Year, it was “hard to believe” she drew a direct parallel between the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem and the situation in Crimea.
Kallas has long supported calls from several EU member states for the European Commission to impose trade restrictions on territories illegally occupied by Israel. This issue divides EU governments and has become a point of tension between Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Despite Kallas’s support, the European Commission has yet to implement such measures. In July, only a minority of EU foreign ministers called on the Commission to present concrete measures for a vote by member states.
Several countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden, advocate for EU-wide trade restrictions, while the Czech Republic has vowed to oppose any new sanctions, effectively blocking the unanimity required among EU member states for such decisions.
The debate intensified on Tuesday when eight EU countries, including France, Spain, and Ireland, joined the United Kingdom and Canada in pledging to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements.
Following this, Kallas stated that all EU member states agree that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. She also noted that the expansion of settlements “undermines the prospects for a viable two-state solution.”
Kallas’s position has repeatedly drawn sharp reactions from Israeli officials. In June, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar vowed to “cut off all contact” with the EU High Representative following reports that she compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Source: Politico
