On Monday a group of 325 former EU ambassadors and senior officials have submitted a letter calling on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to impose sanctions on Israel, reported by Euronews. This is in response to the devasting civilian casualties in Gaza and expansionist policies in the West Bank.
The letter urges the UNSC “to adopt sanctions against the multiple violations of international law being perpetrated daily by the Israeli government on the people of Palestine.”
This is not going to advanced, of course given that the five permanent UNSC members of China, France, Russia, UK and US are not going to approve it – especially not the Untied States. Each have veto power over such sanctions. But Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has increasingly acknowledged Israel’s growing economic isolation, especially regarding Europe, as he did in fresh Monday comments…
“Israel is in a sort of isolation,” Netanyahu admitted before conference of the Finance Ministry’s accountant general in Jerusalem. “We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics,” he continued – using a term signifying the pursuit of total economic self-sufficiency and domestic reliance. He said this is “the word I most hate.”
“I am a believer in the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here – not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need,” he said.
While the Trump administration has expressed it will continue its ironclad security support, Tel Aviv knows it cannot always rely on Washington, given in any era there could be a new administration in the White House, and future policy could shift drastically – as it is doing among several EU states.
