EU to freeze payments to Israel – von der Leyen

The European Commission will put bilateral support with the Jewish state on hold over the ongoing war in Gaza, the official has said

The European Union will suspend its bilateral support programs with Israel and freeze related payments over the Jewish state’s ongoing siege of Gaza, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday.

She stressed that what is happening in Gaza has “shaken the conscience of the world” and that in addition to suspending payments, the EC will propose sanctions on “extremist ministers and violent settlers” and “propose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.”

The EC had previously also proposed suspending Israel’s access to EU Horizon research funding for start-up companies, although von der Leyen noted that the move is not yet possible because it needs support from a weighted majority of the bloc’s 27 member states. The initiative is currently opposed by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and several other states.

Von Der Leyen insisted that the EU “cannot afford to be paralyzed” in the face of “catastrophic” images coming out of Gaza of people being “killed while begging for food” and “mothers holding lifeless babies.”

Over 64,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its campaign two years ago, following Hamas’ 2023 attack that left 1,200 dead and about 250 taken hostage.

Von der Leyen’s announcement comes after Israel also drew international criticism on Tuesday for carrying out an attack on a Hamas-controlled compound in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani condemned the strike as “state terrorism” and stressed that it would not be “overlooked” as Doha “reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack.”  

Moscow slammed the Israeli attack as a “gross violation of international law and the UN Charter,” warning that such actions could lead to further escalation and destabilize the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump also criticized the airstrike, stressing that bombing a “sovereign nation and close ally of the United States” did not “advance Israel or America’s goals.”

Hamas said its top leadership survived the attack, which it described as an attempt to assassinate negotiators working on a potential settlement.

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