France urging EU partners to consider firm response to Israel’s West Bank annexation
…by PressTV, Tehran
[ Editor’s Note: France taking the lead here is nice to see, but it looks like Israel has planned ahead to cut the EU off at the pass by having a fix in with a couple of its members to block any serious consequences from Bibi doing anything he wants to the West Bank, Gaza, or the Palestinians.
A parallel example would be how Bibi danced around Benny Gantz in the coalition negotiations because he had his coalition lined up behind him, while Gantz had his blown to the wind after breaking his pledge not to join a Netanyahu government.
I sometimes think the EU knows how limited its options are, but puts on these public shows to cover up how its structure has self-castrated having any serious impact on world events, particularly when it comes to fixing systemic problems.
By accepting the Balkans countries in, it did not add much to its gross economy, and some would say a liability. These countries always assured there would be one or two that could be bought off to block a unanimous EU vote.
It is too late to change the EU structure, because that would require a unanimous vote. I am trying to think about a situation in the last few years where the EU was key in a major geopolitical vote that fixed something. Please let me know in the comments.
And no, the EU’s support for JCPOA does not count, because the special Swiss bank trading workaround for Iran has not processed a single deal in close to two months. The EU is humiliating itself in not realizing that its signature on any agreement is worth less each year, second after the US.
It suffered under the Russian sanctions, particularly France, which has contributed to the EU’s weakened economy, and I would say made Trump more aggressive in his US sanctions demands.
Dear EU, Gordon and I are available for consultation, but we would have to review some of the past goofs to see what you have learned for anything to be feasible now. Fixing things usually requires understanding how you got caught in the mess to begin with, and why it has gone on so long … Jim W. Dean ]
Jim's Editor’s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal
Jim's work includes research, field trips, Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more. Thanks for helping. Click to donate >>
– First published … May 12, 2020 –
France has been pushing its European Union (EU) partners to consider threatening the Israeli regime with a firm response if Tel Aviv proceeds with a plot to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, diplomatic sources say.
Three EU diplomats told Reuters on Monday that France wants to raise the issue during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers on Friday. Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg also seek to introduce some sort of punitive economic measures against Israel on the event’s agenda, they said.
The diplomats did not specify what punitive measures could be on the table to deter Israel from stealing more Palestinian land.
The report came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said cabinet discussions would start in July over extending Israeli “sovereignty” to the settlements built on occupied land and to the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, as was mooted under US President Donald Trump’s Middle East scheme.
Palestinians have expressed outrage at Israel’s plans to cement its hold on land it seized during the 1967 war — part of the territory they are demanding for a future state of Palestine.
“There is clearly a need to look at what annexation means in the context of international law and we do need to know our options,” said one senior EU diplomat involved in discussions.
“We also need to say what exactly the consequences of annexation would be, ideally as a way to stop any such move,” the diplomat added.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano said on Monday that the 27-member bloc would take action if Israel moved ahead with its illegal annexation of the West Bank.
“Annexation is not in line with international law. If it goes ahead, the EU will act accordingly,” he told the European Commission’s daily press briefing.
In terms of procedure, EU governments would need to ask the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) to draw up a list of options. All 27 EU nations would need to agree to any response, but Israel’s closest allies such as Hungary and the Czech Republic could still block even preparatory work, according to Reuters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said the bloc does not recognize Israeli rule over Palestinian land, and that it will “continue to closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and will act accordingly.”
Separately, the UK also said it would not support Israel’s annexation scheme, with Britain’s minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa telling the parliament that “our long-standing position is that we do not support the annexation of parts of the West Bank, and… doing so could make a sustainable two-state solution harder.”
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat said Ireland and Greece were also opposed to Israel’s new land grab bid.
Erekat tweeted Monday that he had held in-depth talks with Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveny as well as with Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias.
During the talks, he said, the European diplomats called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the implementation of a so-called two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders in line with international law.
Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus. He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He now writes and posts periodically for VT.
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Israel has a lot of people compromised, as revealed in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Here’s a history of how Israel got its empire, the banking, the mobsters, and what can be done about it. War Profiteers and Israel’s bank.
https://warprofiteerstory.blogspot.com/p/war-profiteers-and-israels-bank.html
@ Hey Jim W. Dean!
ich möchte an Urie Avnery ( Verstorben ) erinnern, es war bis zu letzt für die zwei Staaten-Lösung.
Seine Überzeugung war immer , “es ist möglich die Zwei Staaten Lösung. ) dafür hat er gelebt.
Er war einer der großen Humanisten im Jüdischen Glauben. Gruß
Yes, Uri was, and sadly there has been no one to replace him. We pray the same does not happen to us. We tried to reach out to Uri, but he never spoke to us directly, nor did he ever come to the US for a speaking tour, which was item number one in discussing with him. But everybody in the resistance movement has a right to chose what they want to do. Trying to force someone to do something they don’t want to never gets you anything. So we just move on. Momentum is the key to survial of a resistance.
Israel owns the EU decision makers, and thinking ahead, probably had much to do with writing the EU laws and by laws. Nothing short of the U.S. changing it’s course and one sided support of Israel will slow the Israeli Yinon plan for a greater Israel one stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. Everything is just so anti-semetic.
Dear Jim:
Before reading up to your words “…self-castrated…” I mused to myself that they (i.e., EU leaders) are geldings. Funny.
I have no doubts that you, Gordon et al could fix or improve nearly any situation on this dizzy planet.
As a huge fan of VT, I sometimes feel concerns for your safety but don’t let my ‘mother-hen’ tendencies deter you. You’re the Experts! Freakin’ WaPo utilizes your service(s)! I am suitably impressed. Kind regards to All. Be Well.
That was a pleasant turn of events, and a rare one. But we found an intelligent editor to discuss things with, showing him how they had been sand bagged on the story, and then gave them a lot of background material they did not have. When they saw who we really were, they understood what we had enemies. We are fishers of men, and builders of bridges, as you are very limited in what you can do without a good network of capable and trusted people. And they learn that is a two way street with us, as they need help in things sometimes that they don’t have the skills and background to do.
I am not a decision maker in the EU, but as a simple citizen of the Russian Federation, I can boycott products manufactured in Israel. Neither the goods nor the food made there. Although, to be honest, I have not seen anything from Israeli goods in Russia.
Comments are closed.