Italian FM: Open to trade sanctions against Israel

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday that Italy is open to considering European Union trade sanctions against Israel.

Speaking before the Italian Senate, Tajani stated that Rome supports imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers who adopt “unacceptable” positions regarding Gaza and the West Bank. He stressed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has long exceeded “the limits of a proportionate response,” and that its decisions violate the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to the European Council calling for the suspension of Israel’s trade privileges and sanctions on far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government as well as “violent settlers.”

In a statement, the Commission explained that the proposal followed a review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, concluding that Israeli government actions constitute a serious breach of essential elements relating to human rights and democracy, thereby entitling the EU to suspend the agreement unilaterally.