The proposal, which has been on the table for a long time, had to be unanimously approved by all 27 states of the European Union. Until now, Hungary in particular was opposed, but the Czech Republic also had reservations.
“EU foreign ministers have just approved the imposition of sanctions on Israeli settlers due to violence against Palestinians. At the same time, they have agreed on new sanctions against leading Hamas officials,” Kallasová wrote. “It was high time to move from the stalemate to action. Extremism and violence have consequences,” she added.
The Czech Republic is represented at Monday’s meeting by Deputy Foreign Minister Jiří Brodský.
In response, the head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, already rejected the EU sanctions on the settlers, according to him, the union is punishing them for their political opinions. Israel will continue to support the settlements, he said.
At the April meeting of EU ministers, Czech Minister Petr Macinka admitted that the Czech Republic, which has traditionally had friendly relations with Israel, would be willing to support the proposal. However, it is necessary to negotiate a certain compromise agreement.
“However, some countries want to tighten it up again and impose sanctions on Israeli government politicians and ministers, I think that has no chance of passing,” Macinka said in April, adding that the sanctions should not be unilateral. He also mentioned the imposition of sanctions against Hamas.
