EU must mull sanction on 2 Israeli minister: Borrell

BRUSSELS

The European Union’s top diplomat has said the bloc should consider sanctioning far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for comments he said constitute “incitement to war crimes.”

Writing on X late on Aug. 11, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemns Ben Gvir for once again urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut all aid and fuel to the Gaza Strip.

He also slams Smotrich’s “sinister statements,” saying that he supports U.N. rights chief Volker Türk in his condemnations — appearing to refer to the finance minister’s recent remark that starving 2 million Gazans in order to get the Hamas hostages back might be “justified and moral.”

“Sanctions must be on our EU agenda,” Borrell writes.

“I urge the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from these incitements to commit war crimes,” he says, adding that Jerusalem must show “good faith” in talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Ben-Gvir has also repeatedly called for Israel to permanently reoccupy Gaza, rebuild Jewish settlements there and encourage the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from the territory.

Ben-Gvir, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, has threatened to bring the government down if it makes too many concessions in the cease-fire talks.

Smotrich’s remarks also drew condemnation from Israel’s Western allies.

The U.S. said that that Smotrich would "sacrifice" Israeli and U.S. hostages who stand to be freed under the deal in a position that "flies in the face of the national security interests of Israel at this critical stage of the war."

In the meantime, around 100 Israeli reserve officers sent a letter to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, saying that the Israeli army is “still far from victory” in the Gaza Strip.

“In the past few days, we have been astonished by repeated statements from senior army officials that victory is within reach, and it is possible to move to the stage of pinpoint raids,” the letter read.

“We, who came from the field, know very well that the situation is still far from victory.”

The army officers said that Palestinian resistance factions still have cross-border capabilities such as UAVs, explosive drones and mortars.

“This is not what victory looks like!”