Arab parties pen letter to EU calling for sanctions on Israel over sovereignty bid
The Joint List, a group of predominantly Israeli Arab parties which ran together during Israel’s recent elections, have sent a letter to Josep Borell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the chief foreign diplomat of the European Union, calling on him to take measures against Israel should it move ahead with plans to apply its sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria.
Members of the Joint List at the party’s headquarters in the Arab city of Shfar’am, during the Israeli Elections, on March 2, 2020. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90.
The letter, co-signed by all 15 Knesset members from the list, calls for the serious examination of all options, including to “make it clear [to Israel] that it will suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement.” The agreement provides the legal framework for E.U.-Israel relations and deals with free trade arrangements and scientific, technological and cultural and cooperation.
The MKs also call in the letter for enforcement of regulations requiring labelling and singling out of goods which originate specifically from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
Borell had written in Israeli newspapers on Tuesday that Israel’s “annexation” of territory in the Jordan Valley and Judea and Samaria will weaken E.U.-Israel ties.
“Europe and Israel are very close not only geographically, but also culturally and economically,” wrote Borrell. “There is a strong bond between Israel and Europe, and we want to strengthen this bond and further deepen our relations, not see them retract. However, this is what will inevitably happen if unilateral annexation goes ahead.”
JNS
