Brussels calls on Israel to stop Ben Gvir’s “atrocious” rhetoric and recalls that it is considering sanctioning him

The European Commission on Tuesday called on the Government of Israel to stop the “atrocious and inflammatory” rhetoric of its Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, after his latest statements about killing about 40 Palestinians in Gaza every night, and recalled that there is a proposal on the table to include him on the EU sanctions list for Human Rights violations.

“In its role as minister, the Israeli Government has the responsibility of containing this type of rhetoric,” said the European Union Foreign Spokesperson, Anouar El Anouni, in a press conference from Brussels, who insisted that the use of “atrocious and inflammatory” language is “unacceptable” and “must not go unpunished.”

The community spokesperson thus responded to a question about Ben Gvir’s statements, after the Israeli minister asked to intensify the attacks against the Gaza Strip, defended the death of dozens of Palestinians every night, or the construction of “Jewish settlements” in the Palestinian enclave because the residents “are not even people.”

In this sense, El Anouni recalled the European Commission’s proposal presented to the Council (the States) to include the Israeli minister on the bloc’s sanctions list under the global sanctions regime for Human Rights violations.

Regarding the intensification of Israeli attacks against Gaza and the situation of Palestinian minors, the spokesperson reiterated that civilians, “particularly children”, must be protected at all times in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.

He said this after the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened with new population evacuations if the Gazan population does not immediately stop launching “kites, drones and balloons” from the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that the Israeli Army has confirmed that these objects were not carrying anything dangerous.

BRUSSELS REITERATES ITS REJECTION OF THE E1 SETTLEMENT PLAN

On the other hand, the European Commission has once again called on Israel to withdraw the tender for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in the controversial E1 settlement project, considering that its execution would seriously damage the prospects for a two-state solution.

As El Anouni has warned, the application of this plan would divide the West Bank in two, isolate East Jerusalem and further erode the viability of the two-state solution, in a context also marked by the increase in settler violence.

“The EU’s position is clear,” the spokesperson stressed, insisting that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including the E1 area, are “illegal” under International Law.