by Shlomo Cesana
Foreign Ministry assessment: If measures against settlement goods are not seen as enough, European nations could impose sanctions on residents who live beyond the Green Line, banning "troublemakers" from entering the continent.
A construction site in Ramat Shlomo, east Jerusalem.
Photo credit: Oren Nachshon  |
If Israel continues to build beyond the Green Line, the European Union may begin to take punitive measures against it, according to a Foreign Ministry assessment for 2013.
Israel's ambassadors from around the world convened in Jerusalem this week to discuss and plan for the obstacles ahead in 2013.
The Foreign Ministry believes that if the Israeli-Palestinian peace process remains at a standstill and construction beyond the Green Line continues, the EU and its members would spring to action. The Foreign Ministry believes that to Europe it would appear that Israel is undermining the notion of two states for two peoples.
Europe has in fact already taken measures against Israel, starting in 2005 when it began discriminating against Israeli products made beyond the Green Line by excluding them from reduced tariffs. In 2009, Britain began removing the "Made in Israel" label from products made in Israeli settlements, for the purpose of "protecting the consumer" and to clarify that those products were, in its view, not made in Israeli territory.
In 2012, that critical view of Israeli settlement products was adopted by additional countries in Europe. The attention taken to label Israeli settlement goods is not extended to other areas of conflict in the world.
If Israel continues its current policy, European nations may go from labeling settlement products to boycotting them outright. Calls for boycotts have already been heard in Ireland, which will hold the rotating EU presidency for the first half of 2013.
If taking measures against settlement goods is seen as not enough, European nations could impose sanctions on residents who live beyond the Green Line, for example banning "troublemakers" from entering the continent.
According to a state official, the topic of settlements has become "an increasingly central item of debate for the Europeans. Currently we are at cordial diplomatic talks, but the EU can also take punitive measures."
Despite the seemingly negative outlook Europe has on Israel's settlement policy, a Foreign Ministry official said, "Europe has a deep understanding of the complex challenges Israel faces — Iran, terrorism and regional instability."
Shlomo Cesana
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6913
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment