BRUSSELS: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday he has asked the bloc’s members to consider imposing sanctions on two Israeli ministers for “hate messages” against Palestinians, messages that he said broke international law.
He did not name either of the ministers. But in recent weeks he has publicly criticized Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for statements he has described as “sinister” and “an incitement to war crimes.”
Borrell said EU foreign ministers held an initial discussion about his proposal at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. He said there was no unanimity — which would be required to impose sanctions — but the debate would continue.
“The ministers will decide. It’s up to them, as always. But the process has been launched,” he told reporters.
He said he had proposed that the Israeli ministers be sanctioned for violations of human rights. EU sanctions generally mean a ban on travel to the bloc and a freeze on assets held in the EU.
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz accused Borrell of targeting him with false claims that he had called for Palestinians to be displaced from the West Bank. “I oppose the displacement of any population from their homes,” he said.
Diplomats say it is unlikely the EU would find the necessary unanimous agreement among its 27 members to impose sanctions on Israeli government ministers.
But Borrell’s decision to float such a proposal indicates the level of anger among some European officials over the words and actions of some far-right Israeli ministers.
Even ministers from some countries that are strong allies of Israel, such as Germany and the Czech Republic, did not immediately shut down the sanctions discussion in comments to reporters on the sidelines of Thursday’s meeting.
Ireland, one of the EU’s most pro-Palestinian members, said it backed Borrell’s suggestion.
“We will be supporting Josep Borrell’s recommendation for sanctions in respect of settler organizations in the West Bank who are facilitating (the) expansion of settlements, and also to Israeli ministers,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said.
But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani dismissed the idea.
“We have to resolve the problems, convince the Israelis to make the choices that will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said. “This is the real priority.”
Borrell asks EU to consider sanctions on 2 Israeli ministers
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Borrell asks EU to consider sanctions on 2 Israeli ministers
- In recent weeks, Borrell publicly criticized Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for statements he has described as “sinister” and “an incitement to war crimes”
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
