European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the European Union is halting all financial assistance to Israel and is preparing a series of punitive measures against it in response to the ongoing war in Gaza.
According to von der Leyen's statement, delivered during her State of the Union address in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the EU will suspend all financial support to the State of Israel, with the exception of funding directed to civil society organizations and for Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial and research center.
Von der Leyen said she intends to push for a partial suspension of the Association Agreement, which grants Israel significant trade advantages with the EU. In addition, she plans to advance a ban on dealings with several ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government whom she labeled as extremists.
