‘Appropriate and proportionate’: EU trade commissioner defends sanctions on Israel
The EU’s Commission proposed a package of wide-ranging sanctions on Israel, including trade. In 2024, trade between Israel and the EU amounted to 42.6 billion euros ($50.45bn), 37 percent of which is covered by the preferential trade agreement.
The EU said it regrets having to take the step, but it believes it’s “both appropriate and proportionate given the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza”, said EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
“In light of these figures and the principles at stake, the proposed partial suspension is a carefully considered response to an increasingly urgent situation,” he added.
The announcement doesn’t mean it will go into effect, and it will need to be voted on. The EU has been divided on the issue, with countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary opting to avoid harsh measures on Israel, while others like Spain and Ireland push for them.
What the EU decided to do today is basically to suspend some of the aspects of the trade agreement between the EU and Israel. This means that the EU is looking at imposing tariffs on Israeli imports into its territory, which are estimated to be about 5.8 billion euros ($6.87bn).
It is a GENOCIDE, still the EU refuses to use the word. It is your moral and legal obligation to end the genocide. A couple tarifs aren't going to do it.
‘No genocide on the pitch’: Campaign calls for European football boycott of Israel
Campaigners have issued a call for European football federations to boycott the Israeli national team and ban Israeli players from domestic competitions in response to its actions in Gaza.
The #GameOverIsrael campaign, which is directing its appeal to football federations in Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Spain, launched its campaign with a billboard in New York’s Times Square that reads: “Soccer federations: Boycott Israel. No genocide on the pitch”.
Norwegian media reported that a huge banner was unfurled over Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium, the home ground of the national football team, that read: “Your pitch, your choice: Boycott Israel”.
Asked by the Reuters news agency for comment, the Israel Football Association called the campaign “pathetic” and said the “group of hypocrites” behind it should condemn the October 7 attack by Hamas and call for the release of Israeli captives.
He finally says it now
‘Israel is committing genocide in Gaza’: Bernie Sanders
Prominent United States Senator Bernie Sanders has described Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide, renewing his call for ending Washington’s “complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people”.
Sanders’ statement comes a day after a United Nations Commission of Inquiry released an extensive report that concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Sanders said.
The former presidential candidate, who remains a leading figure in the progressive movement, is the first US senator to call the Israeli offensive a genocide. Several members of the House of Representatives have previously done so.
