POLITICO: EU sanctions against Israel stalls ahead of crucial September talks

European Union countries are heading for another confrontation over long-discussed sanctions against Israel next month, but are still unlikely to reach an agreement, three European diplomats involved in the negotiations told Politico.

EU foreign ministers are expected to revisit proposals to impose trade restrictions and sanction individual Israeli politicians when they meet in the Irish town of Wicklow for an informal “Gymnich” meeting on September 1–2, according to the diplomats. The meeting will take place less than two months before Israel’s October 27 election.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is convening the meeting, is expected to circulate the agenda to member states in the coming days.

Kallas has spent the past year seeking the necessary majority among EU capitals to suspend trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the EU considers illegal, as well as unanimous support for sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers over alleged human rights concerns.

However, several governments have resisted the proposals. Countries including Czechia and Germany had been cautious about taking action while peace talks were underway. Those concerns have now been weakened following Israel’s rejection of a Gaza plan proposed by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the 15-point proposal, saying an Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, as envisioned in the plan, would be unacceptable before the complete disarmament of Hamas.

“It’s politics: I expected a rejection [of the plan] because of the current political circumstances in Israel,” Hildegard Bentele, a German lawmaker, said.

One European diplomat warned that sanctions against Israeli officials could have unintended political consequences. Proposed measures targeting National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for example, could “backfire and bolster his far-right Otzma Yehudit party in the polls,” the diplomat said.

Ireland, which has long advocated tougher EU action against Israel, believes sanctions should remain on the agenda despite the continued deadlock, one of the diplomats said.

Kallas has also pledged to return to the issue after discussions stalled during a tense meeting in July.

The United States, meanwhile, appears to favor giving Israel more time ahead of the election. “We recognize the complexities that come from the Israeli elections, and we’re obviously going to give [Netanyahu] a space to try and navigate that,” a Trump administration official told Politico’s US colleagues.

Israel is seeking to avert EU sanctions both before and after the election, while maintaining that it is prepared to engage with the bloc to address its concerns.

By Vafa Guliyeva