Palestinian government calls on the EU to show courage to bring Israel to heel through trade sanctions

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian on Friday called, from the Ateneo de Madrid, on the European Union (EU) to muster enough courage to pressure Israel through the imposition of trade sanctions that, in the specific case of the West Bank, would halt the wave of "settler terrorism" that has accelerated under the shadow of the Gaza war. Aghabekian and the EU's former chief diplomat Josep Borrell were the guests of honor at a colloquium in which, accompanied by legal experts from international NGOs, they explored the options available to the EU — Israel's largest trading partner — to crack the "impunity" with which that nation's authorities currently operate, in the words of the Palestinian minister. "Israel only understands the language of sanctions," Aghabekian asserted, after stating that it is not enough for Europe to call in writing for a two-State solution and that it is necessary to begin imposing measures on the ground. In Madrid, I met with international human rights organizations to discuss EU action to end complicity in Israel's illegal settlements, including banning settlement products&investments. Palestinian rights are not negotiable, Accountability & justice must move from words to action https://t.co/eWTmuIaAhy— Varsen Aghabekian Shahin (@VarsenAghShahin) November 6, 2026 "We have to bite," the minister said, before denouncing that the European Union would be perfectly capable of doing so, because right now Israel is violating the bilateral mutual trade association agreement in its second article, under which the relationship between the parties "is based on respect for Human Rights and democratic principles." The Foreign Minister also praised the role played by Spain and Ireland, "pioneers" in prohibiting the import and advertising of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, but added that a consensual EU response is needed, because, however estimable, such measures are insufficient to truly make a dent. The problem of strictly bilateral restrictions The restrictions of Spain and Ireland have a limited impact due to their individual nature and because Israel — denounced another of the speakers, legal director of the Global Echo Litigation Center, Jessica Stober — knows many ways to circumvent the facts. In her report Importing the Occupation, a body of evidence gathered on nearly 6,000 Israeli agricultural exports to Europe over the last eight years, Stober and the Global Echo Center denounce a "complex and widespread" system. Through this system, "agricultural products produced in illegal settlements are regularly imported into Europe as if they were Israeli," in a "culture of obfuscation" that includes mixing the origin of products or changing the tax address of exporters. "A pattern," denounces the Global Echo Center, "that violates European laws, trade agreements and policies" and which constitutes more than enough reason to openly consider sanctions on Israeli trade. The principles of International Law governing the cultivation of agricultural products in settlements in occupied territory and their export to foreign states, they recall, are well established by the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force and the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination. The European Union, however, as a joint institution, has never acted in this regard. Borrell blames Germany for the blockade in Brussels Josep Borrell, who served as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2019 to 2024, pointed out today that, even now, the community institutions are "passing the buck" amid an endless regime of disagreements. "The President of the Commission has not wanted to move a millimeter from her position of blind and unconditional support for Israel to the Netanyahu government. She has done nothing and will do nothing," he said of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, whom he accused of diverting this issue into a community labyrinth dominated by a great power, namely Germany, conditioned by its "historical guilt" for the Holocaust. "I see it as difficult for the European Union to change its position because it is dominated by Germany and the countries that emerged from the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the bad conscience over the genocide against the Jews. I make clear who they are," Borrell concluded. For this reason, "the European Council will never show unanimity when it comes to taking measures that sanction the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," nor will the Parliament dare to accuse the Commission of inaction before the European Court of Justice. Borrell also insisted on the paradoxical fact that precisely trade competences are the exclusive purview of the European Commission, which would indeed be capable of activating the annulment of the association agreement with Israel the moment it perceived a violation of it by one of the parties, beyond a mere review of the trade agreement, no matter how much Von der Leyen declares her hands are tied because her office has no power to impose sanctions. In any case, the options are limited. Esti Tambay, senior legal adviser to the NGO Open Society Justice Initiative, considers it conceivable that a member state could take action against the European Council and the European Commission "for inaction" before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), considering that this passivity itself affects compliance with International Law. All that is needed, she has said, is for one "brave" state to dare. "It is true that the challenges are numerous," the Foreign Minister claimed to conclude, "but there is a responsibility under International Law and Humanitarian Law, because the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, and political commitment is needed: we need that push that takes us to the point of activating measures, because we cannot wait much longer or wait for the next crime."