T. Belman. The fact that Israel is choosing to lobby and negotiate is very disturbing. There is nothing to discuss. To talk to them is a sign of weakness. Israel must destroy all illegal Arab construction in Area C and prevent the road the EU is building from being completed. The EU should have no say in the matter.
Israel is battling an EU proposal that will be tabled next week in a meeting of European foreign ministers, which calls for all European Union countries to restrict its international agreements with Israel to within the 1967 borders, thus excluding the settlements.
Two months after introducing labeling for products imported from Israeli settlements, the EU is planning to further differentiate between the areas on either side of the Green Line.
The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, which brings together European foreign ministers, is expected to approve on Tuesday a proposal that is liable to levy new sanctions against Israeli settlements and undermine their international legitimacy.
The proposal calls on all European Union countries to restrict their international agreements with Israel to within the 1967 borders, thus excluding the settlements.
The European External Action Service stands behind the initiative, and Christian Berger, an Austrian diplomat and the head of the Middle East department at the European Commission, has been particularly instrumental in its development.
Israel claims that Berger has for some time been leading an anti-Israel line and is pushing for sanctions against the settlements. Berger was a leading figure in the move to label settlement products.
The Foreign Ministry has received reports that Sweden adopted a decisive role in moving the proposal forward, during an already tense period in Israeli-Swedish relations in the wake of controversial remarks made by the Swedish foreign minister. Ireland, France and Finland are also pushing strongly for harsher wording against Israel.
The draft proposal, which was distributed to the EU’s 28 member states at the end of the week, stipulates that the EU will continue with the line that a clear distinction should be made between Israel and all the territory that was conquered in 1967, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The proposal also states that all international agreements between Israel and the 28 EU member states will apply only to Israeli territory inside the Green Line and not to the West Bank.
The wording of the proposal also ratifies the previous decision regarding labeling of settlement products, clarifying that the move does not constitute a boycott of Israel and that the EU opposes such an action.
The EU will also implicitly condemn Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s NGO transparency bill and will warn of the silencing of civil society, indicating that it will be forced to take measures to preserve the feasibility of the two-state solution.
Israel views the wording of the proposal with great concern and is working behind the scenes in order to soften the proposal. The Foreign Ministry has distributed guidance to Israeli ambassadors in Europe on how to respond to their contacts regarding the issue.
Policy officials in Israel said that the wording in the new proposal proves that the labeling initiative was never about consumer protection, as the EU claimed, but was in fact a political maneuver to fight against the settlements.
“This proves just how divorced from reality the European diplomatic service is,” said one official. “We want to prevent this document at all costs. It is liable to bring about new sanctions.”
A senior Israeli ambassador in Europe estimated that the chances of blocking the strong wording of the proposal are very low, and that it comes in response to Israel’s retaliation against the labeling initiative – a response that in effect froze collaborative efforts to advance European projects in the Palestinian territories.
I find it strange that no one notices that BB has NEVER publicly declared that Jewish settlement id LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE IN YS!!!!
Every day the euros repeat that jews are illegal and verboten to live outside their euro designated ghettos but BB never counters, never rebuts, never argues…..
“battling”? In this big battle of many years BB has NEVER ONCE said that the euros were wrong.. that jewish settlement is legal in YS…. HMMMMMMM, why is that????????????????? Why does BB avoid saying over so many years that Jewish settlement in YS is LEGAL, LEGITIMATE, TO BE ENCOURAGED TO BE FACILITATED…. especially considering that the entire legal basis for the existence of modern Israel is based on the fact of the legality and legitimacy of Jews immigrating and settling in YS?
It is a waste of time to complain about the euros and obama when the main culprit is BB netanyahu… who still after so many years cannot utter those taboo words…. and everyone keeps beleiving that he supports Jewish settlement in YS!!!!!! LOL.
One may search and search and still no word from BB………….
It is the GOI who is divorced from reality… this has been in the pipeline for years, just like the Iran nuclear drama…. therefore there has been ample time for coming up with a plan b when the usual begging and cajoling of the euro scum once more proves futile.
so what is BB’s plan b after all these years that he had to prepare?
what brilliant action will he now take after his begging is proven futile?
I suspect he will complain, do something symbolic that means nothing and then move along as usual, pretending that his years of a failing drama is actually a success. Only BB can be blamed for the euro filth intransigence and humiliation of the Jews.
@ JoeBillScott:
I agree. Sorry for ambiguity, meant an amazon.com style service, not actually Amazon. WM
I don’t think Amazon is any bit more likely to side with Israel than the EU bureaucrats.
It might be time to call their bluff and let Abbas be taken captive by ISIS. We’ll watch while they eat themselves alive and flee to Canada with their brethren.
This should be of no surprise to Israel. Obviously The EU intends to pressure Israel to give up it’s sovereign right in Judea and Samaria. The Europeans are not so stupid, they know a terrorist state there will likely cause Israel’s demise relatively soon, maybe ten to twenty years. Making concessions to compromise this is poisoned policy.
I expect there to be a major drive in The UN Security Council, this year to ram the terrorist state down Israel’s throat while The Obama Gang provides material support and cover with their premeditated action to exponentially ratchet up, to an unprecedented fever pitch, specially designed diplomatic pressures to destroy the country’s economy and faith, with a mortal blow, including terrorism. The U.S. Is supporting terrorism against Israelis. That is a fact. The dreck in The EU want to strike while Obama is so generously planning to withhold The traditional US veto.
This will be a great challenge for Netanyahu to overcome. Now is the time for action, no more words. There will be no kicking the can down the lane. This is truly, ‘The calm before the storm’.
I want to see an amazon.com service offering a wide selection of products made in Judea and Samaria. Offer quality products at a fair price. Let us do business.