European Union Affirms Possible Sanctions Against Israel Still Open

Head of Foreign Policy for the UE Kaja Kallas. (Twitter/@kajajalallas)

JAKARTA - Head of the European Union's Foreign Policy (EU) Kaja Kallas on Monday, confirmed the bloc remains open to the possibility of imposing sanctions on Israeli occupation, in an effort to ensure compliance with the full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

After a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Kallas said, "The ceasefire has changed the context, it's very clear to everyone."

"However, unless we see real and sustainable changes in the field, including more aid reaching Gaza, the threat of sanctions remains at the negotiating table," Kallas said as quoted by Qatar News Agency Oct. 21.

"For now, we will not remove it from the negotiating table, but we will also not move with them, because the situation is very fragile," he said.

Kallas stressed that the EU hopes Israel will take a series of steps, including allowing more humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip and allowing journalists into the Palestinian enclave.

The EU, which is the largest international donor to Palestine, is considering ways to play a bigger role in postwar Gaza.

The bloc has reactivated a civilian mission to monitor the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt in support of a ceasefire agreement. However, the mission will remain suspended pending reopening.

Earlier, the European Commission announced a proposal to impose sanctions on Israel as a occupation force on September 10, quoted from WAFA.

The proposed measures include restrictions such as suspension of provisions on free movement of goods based on the European Union-Israel Association Agreement, imposition of customs, and application of sanctions against colonies involved in land grabbing in occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as against two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.