Von der Leyen proposes bolder EU sanctions against Israel over the war in Gaza

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ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen broke Wednesday with her pro-Israel stance and announced plans to seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza.

The 27-nation EU is split over war in the Gaza Strip and it’s unclear whether a majority will be found to endorse the sanctions and trade measures. Von der Leyen also said she plans to freeze support to Israel given by the EU’s executive branch, which would not require the approval of all member countries.

The bloodshed in Gaza has prompted protests in multiple European cities, from Amsterdam to Barcelona, and fueled criticism of Brussels’ bureaucracy over its perceived inability to meaningfully pressure Israel to halt military operations in the strip and let in more humanitarian aid.

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, so the moves could have far-reaching effects inside Israel, a nation already reeling from the cost of a long war. A commission official said that roughly 32 million euros ($37,517 million) in bilateral funds would be immediately suspended. The commission also gives support to the Palestinian Authority. Von der Leyen said that the events in Gaza and the suffering of children and families “has shaken the conscience of the world” before announcing plans to sanction far-right Israeli cabinet members and West Bank settlers, freeze support to Israel, and for a “partial suspension” of an an Association Agreement that underpins relations between the EU and Israel, targeting notably “trade-related matters.”

Von der Leyen’s comments came the day after Israel’s military warned Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of its plans to take control of what it says is Hamas’ last remaining stronghold and where hundreds of thousands of people remain under conditions of famine.

“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop,” von der Leyen said, to applause in the European Parliament at a session in Strasbourg, France. Roughly a third of the assembled lawmakers wore red clothes to signify solidarity with people in Gaza.

“We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold. We will stop all payments in these areas, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem,” the Holocaust memorial, von der Leyen told lawmakers during her annual State of the Union address.

Israel denies there is starvation in Gaza and says it allows in enough humanitarian aid. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a social media post, said Von der Leyen had succumbed to pressures that undermine Israel-Europe relations. He said her actions will embolden Hamas.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, wrote on X that von der Leyen’s proposals were “shamefully late” and that the “EU can no longer ignore millions of protestors who for the last 23 months have denounced Israel’s crimes.” She called on both Germany and Italy not to block the measures if voted on.

Schams El Ghoneimi, a former Middle East advisor in the European Parliament, said he was surprised by von der Leyen’s comments because “she has been so deaf” to the situation in Gaza and the rising concerns echoed by EU staffers and member states about the situation in the Palestinian territory.

Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland have led criticism of Israel from within the EU, while Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic have defended Israel. Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States.

“It’s just too late, and too little, given the catastrophe on the ground,” said Martin Konečný, director of the Brussels-based European Middle East Project. But he said sanctions and suspension of bilateral deals were significant practically and symbolically because of von der Leyen’s public support for Israel.

Von der Leyen has largely supported the government of Benjamin Netanyahu since meeting him on Oct. 14, 2023, after visiting a kibbutz smoldering from the Hamas raid.

Konečný said the EU leader was “the embodiment of the very pro-Israel commitment of the EU, especially after the Oct. 7 attack” by Hamas against Israel that killed 1,200 and left 251 hostages, sparking the war. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.

— Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.