Jonah Redfern The European Commission has joined seven additional countries in calling on Israel to retract its E1 settlement plan, which would expand settlement construction east of Jerusalem and cut the West Bank in two, Middle East Monitor reports. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he would not rule out new EU sanctions against Israel, according to Armenpress — a shift from Berlin's historically cautious stance on Israel-related measures.
How a Sanctions Vote Would Work
EU sanctions on a non-member state require a Council decision under Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union, which needs unanimous agreement among all 27 member states. Only then can the Council adopt an implementing regulation under Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, by qualified majority, giving measures such as asset freezes, travel bans or trade restrictions binding legal effect across the bloc.
Germany's position matters because Berlin has long been the bloc's most consistent brake on coordinated Israel measures, citing its post-war commitment to Israel's security. Wadephul's refusal to rule out sanctions does not commit Germany to voting for them, but it removes the argument that unanimity is unreachable because Berlin would never move.
What to watch: whether the Commission's call for E1 retraction hardens into a formal sanctions proposal from the EU's high representative, which other member states follow Germany's shift, and whether the UK's draft settler-goods trade ban, reported earlier, moves from draft to enactment.
