Israel slams EU for grouping Israeli citizens with Hamas in sanctions list

An adviser to the office of Israel’s prime minister, Dmitry Gendelman, has sharply criticised the European Union’s latest sanctions package, which includes both Israeli individuals and organisations as well as members of Hamas.

In a statement published on his Telegram channel, Gendelman said, “The EU on Monday imposed sanctions against certain Israeli citizens and a number of Israeli organisations.”

He noted that the same package also included sanctions introduced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas against individuals linked to Hamas. According to him, “In the same package, Kaja Kallas imposed sanctions against individuals from Hamas, and as we understand it, a condition for including sanctions against Hamas members — without which some countries would not have voted ‘for’ — was sanctions against Israeli citizens.”

Gendelman strongly criticised the EU’s approach, stating: “Placing in the same line the murderers of October 7 and the citizens of the country they attacked is not diplomacy. This is the position of the EU, and it is formalised in a document signed by twenty-seven ministers.”

He went on to condemn European policymakers in harsh terms, saying: “A gathering of political bankrupts and opportunists. All their foreign policy boils down to one thing: to poke Trump in the eye, out of spite for Israel and to the delight of pro-Palestinian crowds in European capitals, the same ones chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ in Paris and Madrid.”

Concluding his remarks, Gendelman added, “Deal with the branches of Hamas in your cities. And we will continue to build our country as we see fit.”

By Tamilla Hasanova