EU Halts Financial Support to Israel Over Gaza Siege
(MENAFN) The European Union will halt its bilateral aid programs with Israel and freeze corresponding payments due to the ongoing siege of Gaza, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared on Wednesday.
Von der Leyen emphasized that the crisis in Gaza has “shaken the conscience of the world,” announcing plans not only to suspend payments but also to push for sanctions targeting “extremist ministers and violent settlers” alongside a “partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.”
Earlier, the European Commission had proposed cutting Israel’s access to EU Horizon research funding for startups, but von der Leyen acknowledged that the move remains blocked without a weighted majority among the bloc’s 27 member states, with Germany, Italy, Hungary, and others opposing the measure.
The Commission President stressed that the EU “cannot afford to be paralyzed” as it witnesses the “catastrophic” scenes emerging from Gaza, with people “killed while begging for food” and “mothers holding lifeless babies.”
Since Israel’s campaign began two years ago, following Hamas’ 2023 assault that killed 1,200 and took roughly 250 hostage, more than 64,000 lives have been lost in Gaza.
Von der Leyen’s statement followed international condemnation of an Israeli strike on a Hamas-controlled site in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani labeled the attack “state terrorism,” warning it will not be “overlooked” as Doha “reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack.”
Moscow criticized the Israeli action as a “gross violation of international law and the UN Charter,” cautioning it could trigger greater escalation and destabilize the Middle East.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump condemned the airstrike, asserting that bombing a “sovereign nation and close ally of the United States” fails to “advance Israel or America’s goals.”
Hamas confirmed its top leaders survived the strike, describing it as an assassination attempt against negotiators involved in a potential settlement.
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