The EU halts sanctions against Netanyahu and trusts he will comply with the ceasefire.

BrusselsYet another opportunity for the European Union to take on Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Israel has killed nearly a hundred Palestinians and has temporarily blocked the entry of humanitarian aid since the ceasefire agreement, the member states have avoided approving at the EU Foreign Affairs Council this Monday the sanctions against Tel Aviv proposed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to stop the Israeli offensive.

The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, has argued that the situation is "fragile" and "changing", and that the European Union wants to avoid taking any missteps after the ceasefire agreement mediated by Donald Trump. "We must really see how the arrival of humanitarian aid to Gaza improves," the community leader said at a press conference. However, Kallas acknowledged the "division of visions" that exists among the twenty-seven state governments on the conflict and said that the sanctions are not annulled, but "remain on the table" in case they consider that they should be applied at any time.

The restrictions against Netanyahu proposed by Brussels consist of punishing Israeli ministers andPartially freeze the EU's association agreement with Israel, but these measures must be approved by a qualified majority, which complicates their approval. In fact, even if the ceasefire agreement had not been signed, some of the most pro-Zionist EU member states, such as Germany, Italy, and Hungary, had already shown reluctance to annul part of the EU's association agreement with Israel, which establishes a priority framework for trade and political dialogue between the two countries. On the other hand, the possibility of adding members of Netanyahu's government to the EU blacklist did, in principle, enjoy broader consensus among member states.

For the time being, however, diplomatic sources explain to ARA that the general will of the member states is to give a vote of confidence to Netanyahu and hold off on making any moves while awaiting the outcome of the ceasefire. Thus, Kallas limited himself to asking both parties to comply with the agreement brokered by Trump: Israel, above all, to allow humanitarian aid to enter and open the Rafah crossing; and Hamas, to end attacks on Palestinian civilians and "disarm."

Spain pressures Netanyahu

As is customary in statements to the media at the meeting of foreign ministers, representatives of the most pro-Palestinian states, such as Spain and Belgium, stressed that it is necessary for Israel to allow in all the humanitarian aid it has pledged, while the most pro-Israeli governments, such as Germany and Austria, have emphasized the need to allow in all the humanitarian aid it has pledged. In this regard, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reminded Israel that "a violation" of the ceasefire cannot be repeated and urged it to allow in all necessary aid, as it is currently only receiving access "incipiently." For this reason, the Moncloa has clearly shown itself to be in favor of keeping the possibility of sanctioning Israel on the table.

It should be remembered that this is not the first time that the European Union has considered sanctioning Israel and, at the last minute, Netanyahu's government manages to avoid itLast July, the European Union threatened to apply pressure against Israel, but Tel Aviv promised to allow more humanitarian aid in and rebuffed the threat. Ultimately, the Israeli government breached the agreement it had reached with Brussels, but the European bloc continued to impose no restrictions.