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EU Rejects Sanctions on Israel Amid Diplomatic Battle, PA Condemns Decision as ‘Shocking and Disappointing’
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to the media as she arrives at the 5th EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Israel welcomed the European Union’s decision not to pursue punitive action against the Jewish state over the war in Gaza, calling it “an important diplomatic victory” as some member states push to undermine Jerusalem’s military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the war-torn enclave.
On Tuesday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc would not impose sanctions on Israel, following a meeting of EU foreign ministers to address the issue.
In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the news as the result of a “complex, grueling, and multi-front diplomatic battle.”
“The attempt to impose sanctions on a democratic country defending itself against efforts to destroy it is outrageous,” the top Israeli diplomat said, expressing gratitude to Israel’s allies in Europe who helped block the punitive measures.
ישראל עומדת מזה קרוב לשנתיים במערכה צבאית במספר חזיתות. אבל היא עומדת גם במערכה מדינית מורכבת, מפרכת ורבת חזיתות.
היום השגנו הישג מדיני חשוב כשעלה בידנו להדוף את כל סוגי הניסיונות האובססיביים של מספר מדינות לנקוט סנקציות נגד ישראל באיחוד האירופי. אותן מדינות לא הציעו, למשל,… pic.twitter.com/j4ivwv2WUF— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 15, 2025
Speaking at a press conference following the Brussels meeting, Kaja Kallas noted “positive signs” in Israel’s progress toward fulfilling last week’s agreement with the EU to increase humanitarian access to Gaza, while emphasizing that “more concrete steps” remain necessary.
The top EU diplomat stated that the bloc will carefully watch Israel’s execution of the agreement — which aims to open additional crossings, increase aid and food shipments, support critical infrastructure repairs, and protect aid workers.
According to Kallas, if Israel fails to follow through on the agreed measures, the bloc will reconsider imposing punitive actions against Jerusalem, with an update on its compliance to be presented at the next foreign ministers’ meeting in two weeks.
“We will keep these options on the table and stand ready to act,” Kallas said.
During this week’s meeting, the bloc discussed 10 potential measures against Israel over alleged violations of human rights commitments under the EU-Israel Association Agreement — a pact governing the EU’s political and economic ties with the Jewish state — such as suspending trade-related deals and imposing arms embargoes.
Despite efforts by some European countries to undermine Israel’s defensive campaign against Hamas in Gaza, there was not enough support within the EU to take any action, as Jerusalem still retains significant backing among member states.
In an interview with Euronews, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, condemned the EU’s decision not to take action against Israel, describing it as “shocking and disappointing.”
“These violations have been unfolding in front of everybody’s eyes. The whole world has been seeing what is happening in Gaza. The killing. The atrocities, the war crimes, the weaponization of food, the killing of people queuing to get a pack of flour,” Shahin said.
This latest anti-Israel initiative follows a recent EU-commissioned report accusing Israel of committing “indiscriminate attacks … starvation … torture … [and] apartheid” against Palestinians in Gaza during its military campaign against Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist group.
According to the report, “there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations” under the 25-year-old EU-Israel Association Agreement.
While the document acknowledges the reality of violence by Hamas, it states that this issue lies outside its scope — failing to address the Palestinian terrorist group’s role in sparking the current war with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israeli officials have slammed the report as factually incorrect and morally flawed, noting that Hamas embeds its military infrastructure within civilian targets and Israel’s army takes extensive precautions to try and avoid civilian casualties.
Following calls from a majority of EU member states for a formal investigation, last month’s report builds on Belgium’s recent decision to review Israel’s compliance with the trade agreement, a process initiated by the Netherlands and led by Kallas.
Last month, Ireland became the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The post EU Rejects Sanctions on Israel Amid Diplomatic Battle, PA Condemns Decision as ‘Shocking and Disappointing’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.