By Jorge Liboreiro & Maria Psara

Foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas.

After weeks of disagreements, the European Union has reached a "political agreement" to sanction extremist Israeli settlers, announced Josep Borrell.

The breakthrough came during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers on Monday, where the issue was put on the table to give diplomacy another chance.

"We discussed sanctions against Hamas. And we agreed on sanctions against extremist settlers. This was not possible at the last Foreign Affairs Council. This time, it "is possible. A solid compromise has been found at the working level and I hope this will continue until full adoption soon", announced the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, at the end of the meeting, "but the political agreement is there".

The sanctions have been in the works for months and were initially blocked by a handful of countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, which are among Israel's strongest supporters in the European Union.

But the devastation of the Gaza Strip and continuing reports of violence by Israeli nationals against Palestinians lent urgency to the talks, which intensified further after the United States, The United Kingdom and France have taken the lead and sanctioned a handful of extremist settlers.

The final obstacle was Hungary, which, according to diplomats, indicated last week that it would lift the opposition, raising hopes of a breakthrough on Monday March 18, 2024.

The political agreement still needs to be adopted by ambassadors. Only then will the identities of the blacklisted settlers be known.

West Bank settlements are illegal under international law and are seen as a major obstacle to achieving lasting peace under the two-state solution.

The move is part of a careful diplomatic choreography that coincides with new sanctions against Hamas, which the European Union considers a terrorist organization.

In response to the October 7 attacks, which killed more than 1,100 civilians in Israel, the European Union established a specific sanctions regime targeting any person or entity suspected of supporting, materially or financially, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 

Six financiers were added to the blacklist on January 19.

Open-air cemetery

Monday's foreign ministers' meeting came as the Integrated Food Security Classification Framework (IPC) released a new report highlighting the extreme severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 31,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli offensive, according to Hamas.

According to the IPC, "the entire population of the Gaza Strip (2.23 million people) faces high levels of acute food insecurity", with half of the population classified as "catastrophe". ". In the northern part of the enclave, famine is “imminent”.

The military conflict, the scarcity of humanitarian aid and limited access to food, health care, water and sanitation are all factors that explain the deterioration of the situation.

"The escalation of hostilities has caused considerable damage to property and infrastructure essential for survival. Around 50% of buildings - and more than 70% in the northern governorates - have been damaged or destroyed," the report said.

Before heading to the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell painted a bleak picture of the situation on the ground.

"Gaza was before the war the largest open-air prison. Today it is the largest open-air cemetery. A cemetery for tens of thousands of people, but also a cemetery for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law,” Josep Borrell told journalists.

Josep Borrell also said he would propose a "political orientation debate" on the future of the EU-Israel association agreement, in force since 2000. Last month, Spain and Ireland, two of the Union's most critical voices towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joined forces and called for an "urgent review" of the agreement.

However, during the ministerial meeting, at least six member states spoke out against this revision: "Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary", several diplomats told Euronews , on condition of anonymity.

One diplomat noted that most states supported the idea of inviting Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz to discuss this and other issues in Brussels.

Source: Euronews