Hungary was the sole among the 27 EU member states to oppose a proposal to sanctions Israeli ‘’violent settlers’’ in the wake of a discussion on the situation in Juedea and Samaria (West Bank) on Monday at the EU Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels.
‘’The same that we have with Ukraine. 26 countries want sanctions on the violent settlers, it has been on the table for quite some time, and one does not want,’ said EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas at a press conference following the meeting, in a reference to Hungary. ‘’This is clearly the problem that we have in our decision-making processes, because it is not the majority view. And when one is blocking, then we do not do what the majority wants, but actually we are doing what this one country wants,’’ she said.
Hungary is one of Israel’s closest allies in the European Union, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban directing police to ban pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rallies..
On the West Bank, the Council discussed the recent measures adopted by the Israeli government to amend land registration and property acquisition procedures.
Ministers voiced serious concern that these decisions «represent a breach of international law and further undermine efforts towards a peaceful resolution and a two-state solution,’’ the EU said.
The European Union has called on Israel to reverse its recent decision, recalling that annexation is illegal.
An EU spokesperson said ”the Israeli decision to approve the launch of a land registration process in Area C of the West Bank constitutes a new escalation following recent measures already aimed at expanding Israeli control in Areas A and B.”
“We recall that annexation is illegal under international law. And we call on Israel to reverse this decision,” the spokesperson added.