Spain readies sanctions against ‘dozens’ of Israeli settlers, as Hungary blocs EU action
Spain has joined France and Ireland in calling for European Union sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinians, as it announced it is going ahead with a planned entry ban on dozens of radical Israelis.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that one country – reportedly Hungary – has been blocking a collective EU response to the violence by extremist Jewish settlers.
He said his ministry is already working on a ‘first list’ with ‘dozens’ of people who have carried out violent acts against Palestinians in the West Bank.
‘Spain is going to move forward individually in the imposition of these sanctions,’ he said, reported by Spanish state broadcaster RTVE, 19 February. ‘We would have liked them to have been at the EU level but we needed unanimity,’ he added, explaining that 26 of the 27 nations in the bloc were in favour of EU-wide sanctions.
The holdout is reportedly Hungary. On 19 February, it was the only country that refused to sign a warning to Israel against launching an offensive in Rafah, the Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip where more than one million of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have fled from Israeli bombings and raids.
Reading a statement, he said was on behalf of ‘foreign ministers of 26 Member-States of the European Union,’ EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, ‘We ask the Israeli government not to take military action in Rafah, because that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance.’
Ireland and France have said they are pushing for collective EU sanctions targeting attacks against Palestinians. Last week, France announced an ‘administrative ban’ on 28 Israeli settlers, barring them from entry into the country.
