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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Activism Home page  back Print  Send To friend The EU directive needs to be followed by harsher sanctions on Israel Linah Alsaafin Middle East Monitor 29 July 2013 http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/europe/6701-the-eu-directive-needs-to-be-followed-by-harsher-sanctions-on-israel On July 19, the 28 member states of the European Union issued a directive that any future dealings with Israel will exclude the Jewish-only settlement colonies in the Palestinian territories (Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem) and the Golan Heights that were occupied in 1967. The directive will come into effect in January 2014 and last until 2020, marking a time period of regulating EU-Israeli cooperation in sectors such as sport, academia, economics and culture. Unless Israel signs a territorial applicability clause that states the settlements are not part of Israel, the EU holds the right to withdraw the issuing of grants, scholarships or prizes. Since 1967, over 125 illegal settlements within East Jerusalem and the West Bank have been recognised officially by the Israeli government, in addition to another hundred outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law. The settlements constitute a land grabbing mechanism, built on stolen Palestinian land, and are populated by over half a million settlers. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal for an occupying power to transfer its citizens to occupied territories. The decision to exclude the settlements from any agreements between Israel and the EU was taken at a meeting between EU foreign ministers in December last year. It was preceded by several official reports and statements that expressed real fears of the collapse of the two state solution if Israel continues its settlement policies with impunity. The directive will not affect the private sector, but Israeli officials fear that such a ruling might spread to the products grown inside the settlements and exported to Europe, which remains Israel`s biggest trade partner. Naftali Bennet, the Israeli minister of commerce, described the directive as `an economic terror attack.` On the other hand, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, welcomed the move as a positive action. `The EU has moved from the level of statements, declarations and denunciations to effective policy decisions and concrete steps which constitute a qualitative shift that will have a positive impact on the chances of peace,` she said. Dr Ramy Abdu, the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Euromid Observer for Human Rights, echoed the significance of the directive, although he pointed out that it took a long time for such a ruling to pass despite the EU`s adoption of the two-state solution, which is based on the rejection of Israeli settlements. `It can be said that the decision will cause economic losses for the Israeli government and affect many sectors, especially if we take into account that the annual output of the Israeli settlements exceeds $ 59 billion,` he explained. `The Israeli financial banking sector, which is linked notably to the European financial sector, will be affected heavily, particularly in light of getting a number of Israeli banks such as Bank Leumi and Bank Hapaolim credit facilities from the European Investment Bank,` Dr Abdu continued. `We have seen last month the failure of the Israeli stock exchange to join the Morgan Stanley European financial services firm, which resulted in the loss of billions of dollars of European investment opportunities in the Israeli capital market.` Following the EU directive by a few days, and after the 6th visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry in as many months, the resumption of negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government was announced. Dr Abdu rules out any direct connection between the two declarations. `The ambassadors of EU countries in the Political and Security Committee do not support Kerry`s plan, and rejected being in the pocket of the US position,` he explained. `The US was missing from the stage all of last year and only the European Union constantly played a key role to keep the two-state solution afloat.` Palestinian human rights activist and founding member of the BDS movement Omar Barghouti recognizes the EU directive as an act of moderate sanctions, albeit one that lacks adequacy but which the EU hopes will `rattle Israel enough to entice it to move forward with the US-led sham process`. He claims that it is `irrelevant` whether the EU sticks to a supposed two-state solution or not. `It must still respect its obligations under international law and must act on its long-standing recognition of the right of return,` Barghouti told the Electronic Intifada. `Furthermore, it should oppose Israel`s regime of apartheid which is based on racist laws that discriminate against non-Jewish citizens of the state.` In order to keep the pressure on Israel and to bring it to accountability, the EU should end the trade in military equipment with Israel, and ban companies operating in the illegal colonies from entering the EU market. `This would help the EU start to conform to its own laws and presumed commitment to human rights,` Barghouti added. Having issued dozens of reports and condemnations highlighting the consistent Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, the EU`s decision seems to be a pivotal step in an attempt to prohibit Israel from acting with continuous impunity. Europe, according to Dr Ramy Abdu, is complicit in the Israeli occupation but feels a moral responsibility for aiding the same government as a result of historical events, namely the Holocaust. The fact that most of the settlers are Europeans themselves is also taken into consideration. `What we`re noticing especially during the past five years is that there is some sort of European understanding of what the Palestinian people are exposed to from the practices at the hands of the Israeli occupation,` he said. `At the forefront is the expanding solidarity movement in Europe, and a perception that the Arab world is undergoing a seismic shift that needs to be dealt with in a manner contrary to the prevailing stereotypes.` That, it is concluded, requires the EU to impose meaningful sanctions on Israel as a follow-up to the latest directive. The author is a Palestinian writer based in the West Bank rh Links to the latest articles in this section Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Saturday night protests: No to Netanyahu`s war!