60 European Parliamentarians Demand Immediate Sanctions on Israel Over West Bank Siege

Sixty parliamentarians from multiple political blocs in the European Parliament have called on EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas to convene an urgent meeting of EU foreign ministers to agree on sanctions against the Israeli government, following the siege imposed by Israel on the West Bank after the deaths of two Israeli soldiers in Hebron on October 23.

The signatories in their letter to Kallas described what is happening in Hebron as collective punishment that amounts to a war crime under international law, noting that Palestinian families were given only five minutes to evacuate their homes before they were demolished.

Parliamentarians viewed the West Bank as standing at a "critical juncture" that affects its future and the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state, emphasizing that the European Union cannot remain silent in the face of what they characterized as a "comprehensive offensive" being waged by the Israeli government against the West Bank.

The signatories demanded three specific measures: EU condemnation of Israel's actions, a demand for Israeli forces to withdraw from the West Bank, and a call on Kallas specifically to propose full suspension of the partnership agreement between the European Union and Israel. Parliamentarians accused the Union of applying double standards in its policy toward Israel, calling for an end to this practice.