According to a senior European diplomat, the EU is working on a series of bilateral sanctions against Israel that will be implemented if the peace process continues to stagnate.
The source told the Times of Israel that the EU was looking at re-evaluating ties if the Netanyahu government fails to make progress toward a two-state solution and continues its current policy of allowing construction beyond the pre-1967 lines.
Under the mechanism being discussed, moves deemed unhelpful to the peace process such as the announcement of new settlements would be met with economic or diplomatic penalties.
On July 22, during Operation Protective Edge, the 28 EU foreign ministers issued a joint statement condemning indiscriminate rocket fire against Israeli civilians and called for the disarmament of all terrorist groups in Gaza.
However, the statement also castigated Israel for continued settlement expansion, “settler violence” the Palestinians’ living conditions, house demolitions and “evictions and forced transfers”.
The EU ministers also made it known that in the future, ties would be made conditional on whether Israel made moves that the EU regards as helpful for peace.
