The European Union sees the Gaza agreement paralyzed.

BrusselsThe European Union has done absolutely nothing to stop Benjamin Netanyahu and now looks completely paralyzed. the ceasefire agreement brokered by Donald Trump. With two years of Israeli offensive and more than 65,000 Palestinians dead, the EU bloc has not sanctioned Tel Aviv and has limited itself to agreeing on opinions to request a ceasefire, a minimal request that has already caused considerable discussion among member states. Furthermore, now that Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission had proposed punishing Israeli ministers and Partially freeze the EU's association agreement with Israel, member states rule out approving these measures at the EU Foreign Affairs Council this Monday, pending Netanyahu's compliance with the pact, according to several diplomatic sources told ARA.

Even the most pro-Palestinian countries in the European Union, such as Spain, believe that it would make no sense to sanction Netanyahu now and trust that both parties will respect the ceasefire agreement. "The situation on the ground It is very changeable", argue community sources. In this sense, other sources who have been present at the previous diplomatic meetings to prepare for the EU Foreign Affairs Council this Monday point out that "the general atmosphere" of the European governments is to wait to see how events unfold before making a move now in a plan that is now filled with a plan that is now filled with a plan that is now filled with a plan that is now filled with a plan that is now filled with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas," another diplomat points out to this newspaper.

However, sources from the EU Council issue a warning to Netanyahu and remind that the sanctions proposed by Brussels remain on the table. European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho assured in a press conference that the proposal for restrictions against Israel presented by Brussels "may change if the situation changes." the extension of sanctions to violent settlers in the West Bank.

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The EU's division over Gaza has blocked any movement by the European bloc as a whole and has diminished its influence in Israel, even though the EU is Tel Aviv's main trading partner and supplies it with around 30% of its weapons. In other words, the member states have considerable leverage over Netanyahu. The problem, however, is that the European partners' positions are often at odds.

For example, regarding the partial suspension of the association agreement, the fact that countries like Germany and Hungary have a very pro-Zionist stance and refuse to apply sanctions against Netanyahu blocks pressure measures, as it requires a qualified majority for approval. Thus, no matter how much some member states, such as Spain and Belgium, insist on restrictions in Tel Aviv, they have almost always come to nothing.

The situation is now similar with Israel blocking part of the humanitarian aid it promised to allow into Gaza. EU sources assure that the European Union's intention is to pressure Netanyahu to allow the Palestinians access to aid, much of which comes from the EU. However, at this time, neither the European Commission nor any member state is considering sanctions for pushing Israel to comply with the pact.

In fact, the last time the EU threatened sanctions against Israel, Netanyahu pledged to allow more humanitarian aid in, only to avoid them. Finally, Tel Aviv breached the agreement it had reached with Brussels and continued the siege of Gaza. Despite these few guarantees of compliance, the European Commission wants to give the Israeli government another chance: it is shelving the sanctions again, relinquishing its influence, and simply hoping that the ceasefire agreement brokered by Trump will end well.