European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has defended the far-reaching sanctions her authority proposed on Israel this week in response to its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
In a written interview with the Leading European Newspaper Alliance, which includes Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper, von der Leyen said she knew that Hamas-led attacks in October 2023 had shaken Israel to its core.
“But the latest developments are particularly worrying, with a man-made famine and the financial drying up of the Palestinian Authority,” she said in the comments released on Sunday.
Von der Leyen stressed that the two-state solution, which envisions a Palestinian state coexisting peacefully alongside Israel, is the only prospect for long-term sustainable peace in the region.
“What we have seen from the Israeli government in recent months is a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution.”
That is why the commission decided to act and proposed a package of “targeted and proportionate measures to find a way forward,” von der Leyen said.
On Wednesday, the commission proposed a series of punitive measures to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to change course in the war.
These included the suspension of certain trade preferences that cover roughly a third of Israeli goods exported to the European Union, and measures targeting particularly radical Israeli politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The commission is also seeking new sanctions against the grup Hamas and other Palestinian groups, as well as violent Israeli illegal settlers.
It is unclear if the commission’s proposal can find the required backing among the EU’s 27 member states.
Suspending trade benefits for Israel would need approval by 15 countries representing together at least 65% of the EU’s total population.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the EU recommendations “morally and politically distorted” and warned that any steps against Israel would be met with a response.
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