EU foreign ministers remain divided over imposing sanctions on Israel for actions during the Gaza conflict, with no consensus reached at an informal Copenhagen meeting. A growing number of EU countries support sanctions amid findings that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in violations of international humanitarian law. Several member states, notably Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, are reluctant to agree to sanctions. The EU is pressing Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, reporting some improvements but continued frustration. Proposed measures include suspending the EU-Israel association agreement, restricting Horizon fund access, and directly sanctioning settlers, with qualified-majority voting making Germany’s stance decisive.
Although the degree of Israel's criminal behavior is still being debated, the majority of observers no longer dispute that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, launched after the October 2023 attack on Israel by the Hamas militant group, has resulted in violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
After the Copenhagen meeting, Kallas told DW that the EU was in constant contact with Israel and was pressuring them to allow more aid into Gaza. "There are things that are improved," she noted, "but it's not enough. It's frustrating that we can't do more."
Various measures have been discussed, including a suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement, a trade pact, or preventing Israeli companies from participating in the EU's Horizon research fund or directly sanctioning Israeli settlers. Some of these would require a qualified majority to pass that is, support from 55% of EU member states, that represent at least 65% of the EU's population. This is why Germany the bloc's most populus member is so important to the vote.
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