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France, Germany, Italy back EU sanctions scheme to target Hamas
France, Germany, and Italy called for the European Union to set up a special sanctions scheme to target Hamas as EU foreign ministers met on Monday to consider possible next steps in response to the Middle East crisis.
Among the possible measures up for discussion at the meeting are a crackdown on Hamas’s finances and travel bans for Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank.
In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the foreign ministers of the bloc’s three biggest countries said it was important the EU take “all necessary measures against the terrorist group Hamas and its supporters.”
“This implies a stronger European commitment both to combating Hamas’s infrastructure and financial support and to isolating and delegitimizing Hamas internationally, which in no way represents the Palestinians or their legitimate aspirations,” said the letter, seen by Reuters.Hamas is already listed by the European Union as a terrorist organization, meaning any funds or assets that it has in the EU should be frozen.
It was not immediately clear from the brief letter the details of how sanctions would be broadened or tightened. If EU members agreed in principle, the next step would be for experts to draw up the legal framework to figure out which individuals or entities would be targeted.
The EU said on Friday it had added Mohammed Deif, Commander General of the military wing of Hamas, and his deputy, Marwan Issa, to its list of terrorists under sanction. It is also considering adding Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar to the list, according to diplomats.
The letter said a separate sanctions scheme targeting Hamas would send a “strong political message” about the EU’s commitment against Hamas.
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Such a scheme was one of a number of options outlined in a discussion paper from the EU’s diplomatic service.
France, Germany and Italy have already been pushing such a scheme behind the scenes but the letter from France’s Catherine Colonna, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and Italy’s Antonio Tajani increases pressure on other EU countries to back it.
Senior EU officials such as Borrell have also expressed alarm at rising violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The paper suggests an EU response could include bans on travel to the EU for those responsible and other sanctions for violation of human rights. The issue was not mentioned in the joint letter to Borrell, which spoke of “our solidarity with Israel.”
France said last month the EU should consider such measures and Colonna told reporters on Monday that Paris was considering domestic sanctions against such individuals.
A Belgian government spokesperson has said Belgium will seek to add violent settlers to the Schengen information database to deny them entry.
Diplomats said it would be hard to achieve the unanimity necessary for EU-wide bans, as countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary are staunch allies of Israel.
But some suggested a decision last week by the United States, Israel’s biggest backer, to start imposing visa bans on people involved in violence in the West Bank could encourage EU countries to take similar steps.
Israel’s political echelon, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the IDF to prepare for an “immediate” return to fighting in Gaza, KAN News reported on Friday evening.
The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimated that if no agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.
“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the continued deal. The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.However, some claim that the terrorist organization has not rejected the proposal. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal.”
Eyal Zamir to Gaza border community heads: We’re preparing to fight
On his first day as the new IDF chief of staff on Thursday, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told heads of local councils from the Gaza border communities that “we are preparing to return to fighting” in Gaza.
“We must defeat Hamas,” Zamir said. “We are also preparing to resume fighting. The hostages are our top priority.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Negotiations over the continued release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled, and “right now there is nothing happening,” sources familiar with details of the talks admitted in conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Right now, there’s nothing happening,” an Israeli official told the Post, adding that “Hamas is currently rejecting the Witkoff proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress.”
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Witkoff plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the deal. The second half of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.
On the other hand, some claim that Hamas has not rejected the proposal. “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations with the Post.“Hamas has said it is willing to negotiate and has not rejected the plan. Since Israel currently states that this is the proposal on the table, from Israel’s perspective, Hamas has rejected it.”
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff not expected to visit Israel soon, source says
An Israeli source told the Post that there is no expectation for Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to visit the region at the moment, adding, “He will only come to finalize a deal. And since there is no real progress right now, it is unclear when or if he will arrive.”
Without an agreement on the release of additional hostages in the coming days, Israeli sources say Israel is preparing to escalate its actions against Hamas. After the decision on Sunday to stop humanitarian aid, Israel is preparing to cut off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as well as resume fighting – some say this might happen, without a deal, as early as next week.
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues.
“The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israel responded to the mediators’ request to allow a few more days of negotiations. Katz added,d “If Hamas does not release the hostages soon, the gates of Gaza will be locked and the gates of hell will be opened – we will return to fighting, and they will face the IDF with forces and methods they have never encountered before.”
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues. “The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
No progress has been made in the ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Israel is reaching a dead end, a source familiar with the details of the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post Saturday.
There were lots of technical discussions but no results, the source added.
Israel and mediating countries believe that only the Trump administration can perhaps break the talks out of the impasse.
“When [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff arrives, things may happen. Everyone is waiting for him,” the source said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting on the hostage deal in the next several hours with senior officials and the negotiation team, an Israeli official told the Post.
Hamas refusing Israeli proposal to extend phase one of deal
Hamas is refusing the idea of extending the first phase of the deal, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo on Thursday. The delegation is led by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, as well as “M,” an anonymous officer from the Shin Bet. M is the former deputy of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who is reportedly no longer part of the hostage deal negotiating team.
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