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Serious words are exchanged/ Why did the relations between the European Union and Israel deteriorate?

2024-05-27 23:14:32Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Serious words are exchanged/ Why did the relations between the European Union
Photo illustration: Barcelona and Tel Aviv

BRUSSELS - Relations between the European Union and Israel deteriorated on Monday, on the eve of the recognition of the Palestinian state by EU member states Ireland and Spain and Madrid's insistence that sanctions be imposed on Israel after the bloody attack in Rafah.

In response to this proposal, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz informed the Spanish authorities that he will no longer allow the provision of services to Palestinians at the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, fully supported the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other individuals, including leaders of the militant group Hamas.

"The prosecutor of the court has been blackmailed and accused of anti-Semitism - as always when someone takes an action that the Netanyahu government does not like," declared Mr. Borrell. "The word anti-Semitism is very heavy. It is very important".

Harsh words were exchanged on Monday. Israeli Minister Katz accused Spain of "rewarding terrorism" by recognizing the Palestinian state and saying "the days of the Inquisition are over". He referred to an infamous 15th-century Spanish policy that forced Jews and Muslims to leave Spain, convert to Catholicism, or in some cases face death.

"No one will force us to convert our religion or threaten our existence - those who harm us, we will harm," Mr. Katz said.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares criticized the comments and said his counterparts from Ireland and Norway, which is not a member of the EU, "were the victims of completely unjustified and unacceptable provocations by Israeli colleagues" because of their plans to recognize the Palestinian state.

"The unity of Europeans is essential to send a very powerful message against those who want to divide us through blackmail propaganda," he said.

While the EU and its member states have strongly condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, the bloc has also criticized Israel's offensive in response to the attack, which left over 35,000 Palestinians killed, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and gunmen.

Spanish Minister Albares said that Spain and other countries have asked Mr Borrell for "the list of measures that the EU can implement" to push Israel to respect the ICJ ruling and to explain what it has done in the situations similar in the past "when there were serious violations of international law".

Spain, Ireland and Norway plan to make their decision to recognize the Palestinian state official on Tuesday. Their joint decision to take such a step prompted a sharp response from Israel, summoning the ambassadors of these countries to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tel Aviv, where they were filmed watching footage of the Hamas attack with 7 October and the kidnapping of hostages.

Although dozens of countries have recognized the Palestinian state, none of the Western powers have done so, and it remains unclear how much the three-state decision will affect in practice. The recognition, however, is an important achievement for the Palestinians, who believe the move lends international legitimacy to their struggle.

Minister Albares criticized the treatment of European ambassadors by Israel. "We oppose something that is not part of diplomatic courtesy and the rules of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," he said.

"But at the same time we must agree that we will not fall prey to provocations that take us away from our goal", he added. "Our goal is to recognize the state of Palestine tomorrow, to make every effort to achieve a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and also, in the end, to achieve complete peace"./VOA


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