EU still lacks unanimity to sanction Itamar Ben-Gvir, Kaja Kallas says

The European Union still does not have unanimous backing to impose sanctions on Israel's security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to the bloc's foreign policy chief. Kaja Kallas made the comments on arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, where the issue was due to be discussed. The talks come amid growing pressure from some member states over Ben-Gvir's treatment of Gaza-bound flotilla detainees.

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Ms Kallas said the proposal had been raised by several member states, but that consultations had not yet produced the unanimity required for EU sanctions on an individual. She said there was broad condemnation of the treatment of the detainees, but added that "at the moment" the necessary support was not in place. According to the information available, a number of countries, including Czechia, do not support punitive sanctions against Ben-Gvir over the flotilla issue.

The dispute has become one of the sharper diplomatic questions facing the EU's foreign ministers. Ben-Gvir posted a video showing himself taunting Gaza-bound flotilla activists being pinned to the ground, and two later alleged they were physically assaulted in detention. Ireland and other member states already have a travel ban on both Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, reflecting wider concern over their positions on Palestinians and the West Bank.

The discussion also sits within a broader debate over the EU's relationship with Israel. Ireland, Spain and Slovenia have called for the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be suspended because of Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Diplomats have said there is still strong resistance from member states that want to maintain relations with Israel, including reluctance to cut access to the EU's Horizon research funding.

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A suspension of the trade element would require a weighted majority, and diplomats say that majority does not yet exist. There is also movement on a separate issue involving Israeli settlement goods. Diplomats say at least 15 member states are prepared to review a ban on goods from Israeli settlements, but that would first require a legal proposal from the European Commission.

Ms Kallas has asked the Commission for such a proposal, although it is not yet forthcoming. That means the sanctions debate is unfolding on several tracks at once, with different thresholds and different levels of support. What happens next will depend on whether member states can narrow their differences during the Luxembourg meeting and in follow-up consultations.

The immediate question is whether the EU can agree on any punitive step against Ben-Gvir, or whether opposition from several capitals will block action again. It remains unclear whether the Commission will bring forward a proposal on settlement goods, and whether pressure for wider trade measures will gain enough support to move beyond discussion.

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