The European Union's Foreign Affairs Commission is reportedly debating punitive measures against Israel should it push forward with its plans to annex parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, in accordance with the Trump administration Middle East peace plan.
Source familiar with the move told Israel Hayom that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is the one pushing for sanctions.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Borrell, a Spanish diplomat, is known for his animosity toward Israel. This attitude is currently offset by the positive sentiment expressed toward Israel by Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, a German diplomat and the sitting president of the European Commission.
The EU's charter states that all major foreign policy decisions can be made only by a consensus among the bloc's 27 member-states. It is therefore believed that Israel's allies in the EU – Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic – will bloc any major punitive action Borrell may try to promote.
Currently, Sweden, Ireland and Luxembourg are pushing for the harshest response, namely suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which regulates the relations between the two.
Another potential measure excluding Israel from Horizon Europe, an ambitious EU research and innovation framework slated to run between 2021 and 2027, which "aims to strengthen the EU's scientific and technological bases, boost Europe's innovation capacity, competitiveness and jobs and to deliver on citizens' priorities and sustain socio-economic model and values," according to its website.
A third scenario may see the EU pull out of the open skies agreement with Israel, which it has yet to ratify.
These scenarios entail a significant economic impact on Israel.
The EU's foreign ministers are expected to debate the issue in their next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, also it is unlikely the decision will be made, as the session will convene a mere day after the new Israeli government will be sworn in.
Over the weekend, a Palestinian NGO called on Borrell to impose sanctions on Israel over its plans to annex the large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, calling the move illegal, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
In a letter to Borrell, the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine expressed "concerns" over Israel's planned annexation of parts of the West Bank that PA seeks to maintain as part of a future state, calling the move "part of the ongoing ethnic cleansing, apartheid and colonization" pursued by Israel.
The Brussels-based group defines itself as a "network of European committees, organizations, NGOs and international solidarity movements, dedicated to the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and justice.".
"This is not the first time that Israel has tried to illegally annex parts of territories it occupies," the ECCP's letter reads. "Israel already annexed occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and Syria's Golan Heights in 1981, in gross violation of international law.
"While Gaza has been strangled by a 13-year blockade and repeated military invasions, in the West Bank Palestinians struggle with a brutal occupation, expulsion, dispossession, arbitrary arrests and house demolitions among other things," the ECCP asserted, urging Borrell to stand by a statement he made earlier this year, warning Israel that steps towards annexation "would not pass unchallenged."
The ECCP's letter said that to confront "Israel's unilateral land grab and annexation, immediate actions must to be taken, including sanctions and ... [other] concrete measures."
Meanwhile, Thursday saw the Foreign Ministry summon EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret for clarifications following a memo suggesting that groups, supporting, identifying or affiliated with terrorist organizations could receive EU funding.
"The Union's policy on financing terrorist organizations is a letter of endorsement for incitement, support and involvement in terrorism," the Foreign Ministry's statement said.
The EU Mission in Israel said, "The EU opposes any incitement to violence or hatred. The allegations that the EU supports terrorism are unfounded and unacceptable, and we strongly oppose any such statement."
