The scene of Minister Itamar Ben Gvir humiliating the international activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla could cost the Israeli government dearly. In the European Union, which is gradually hardening its stance regarding the attitude of Beniamin Netanyahu’s Executive, the images of foreign civilians tied up and kneeling amid the laughter of the Israeli National Security Minister have caused outrage.
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Earlier this month, the EU Foreign Affairs Council reached a political agreement to impose new sanctions against violent Israeli settlers, a rather mild measure that was able to move forward thanks to the political change in Hungary. However, at that time European diplomats cooled the possibilities of going further and taking reprisals against the two most extremist ministers of Netanyahu’s coalition, both Ben Gvir and the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, as Brussels had proposed. Spain is one of the countries that has banned both from entry for months.
The proposal requires unanimity and so far the Twenty-Seven have shown division
This could change because Italy, one of the countries that until now resisted taking more significant measures against Israel, has formally asked the EU to adopt sanctions against Ben Gvir. It was the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who assured that he will put this idea on the table for the next Foreign Ministers’ discussion due to the “unacceptable actions” of the Israeli ultranationalist leader against the Flotilla activists. But his comments came a day after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally demanded an apology from Israel for behavior that has had wide media coverage in the country.
Italian public opinion is forcing Rome to redirect its stance with Israel. The suspension of the automatic renewal of the Defense Agreement with Israel was already notable, something that caused diplomatic tensions. But so far, Italy has been, along with Germany, the main opponent to suspending the commercial aspects of the EU Association Agreement with Israel, something that only requires a qualified majority of the Twenty-Seven.
Spain and Ireland, two of the toughest countries with Tel Aviv, advocate for full suspension and also join Tajani’s requests. Poland, another country not suspected of being too close to Tel Aviv, has banned the National Security Minister from entering the country for five years, as has France, announced this weekend by its Foreign Minister, Jean Noel Barrot, despite criticizing “the approach of the flotilla, which produces no useful effects and imposes an added burden on consular services.”
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The President of the European Council, António Costa, called the treatment given to the activists by Minister Ben Gvir “completely unacceptable” and demanded their immediate release, an opinion shared by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, who now holds the upper hand and could decide to bring the issue up to test the waters during the next informal ministers’ meeting to be held in Cyprus. In contrast, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, remains silent.
It will not be easy for the EU to move. So far, Brussels has tread carefully with Israel, despite much criticism received. Before these images, Kallas already spoke about this issue last week in a hearing before the European Parliament, stating that although initially the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben Gvir were in the same package as those on settlers, in the end the matter was separated because “the problem” is that “Member States did not accept sanctioning them.”
The European Commission does not comment on whether the video of the humiliation of the flotilla activists can change anything, but it does remind that EU sanctions are adopted unanimously by the Twenty-Seven Member States, so, no matter how much Italy has come on board, the rest of the reluctant countries still need to do so. “One thing is public requests and another is discussions among ministers, it is different,” recalls the EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Anouar el Anouni.
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