EU top diplomat seeks sanctions on Israeli ministers

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday he will urge the bloc's 27 member states Thursday to back sanctions on Israeli ministers over their remarks about the war in Gaza.

“Some Israeli ministers have been launching hateful messages, unacceptable hateful messages, against the Palestinians and proposing things that go clearly against international law and is an incitation to commit more crimes,” Borrell said.

Borrell did not name the ministers, but earlier this month he criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over remarks suggesting that the starvation of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians “might be just and moral” until hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel are returned home.

Borrell said there should be “no taboos” to prevent the EU from ensuring that international humanitarian law is respected. Borrell was chairing a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, and he wanted them to discuss possible sanctions.

But the 27 EU member countries are divided over their approach to the war in Gaza and it’s unlikely that they would all agree on such a move.