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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.<\/p>\n
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 the cruel Hamas-led attacks in October 2023 had shaken Israel to its core.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“What we have seen from the Israeli government in recent months is a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the commission proposed a series of punitive measures to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to change course in the war.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The commission is also seeking new sanctions against the Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian jihadists, as well as violent settlers.<\/p>\n
It is unclear if the commission’s proposal can find the required backing among the EU’s 27 member states.<\/p>\n
Suspending trade benefits for Israel would need approval by 15 countries representing together at least 65% of the EU’s total population.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n