France, Britain and Norway plan to bypass Brussels and jointly coordinate sanctions against Israel

(Paris / Hebron, General News) Due to the EU's inability to reach a consensus on sanctions against Israel within the bloc, France is in discussions with its allies such as the UK and Norway, aiming to coordinate and introduce sanctions at the national level against the perpetrators of violence in the West Bank, in an effort to put pressure on the Israeli government's policy of expanding settlements.

According to Reuters, three European diplomats disclosed on Saturday (June 6th) that due to the significant internal divisions within the EU over whether to impose sanctions on Israel, member states found it difficult to take unified actions within the EU framework. Therefore, they decided to promote national-level coordinated sanctions, where each country would implement them based on its own sanctions list, including freezing the assets of relevant individuals in the country and prohibiting their entry.

Apart from France, the United Kingdom and Norway, it is not yet clear which other countries will join. Most governments avoid discussing the specific arrangements publicly to prevent potential sanction targets from transferring assets in advance.

This action indicates that Western countries are increasingly dissatisfied with the West Bank policy of the Netanyahu government. Israel plans to build the "E1 Zone" Jewish settlement in the east of Jerusalem, which will divide the West Bank in two and separate it from East Jerusalem, thereby dividing the territory that Palestinians seek to establish an independent state.

On May 22nd, seven Western countries including France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada unanimously condemned Israel for escalating tensions in the West Bank.

With increasingly frequent atrocities committed against the Bantu people

Meanwhile, violent acts by Israel against Palestinians have become increasingly frequent. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that on Friday, the Israeli army fired shots at a car in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, resulting in the death of a seven-month-old Palestinian baby and injuring the baby's parents.

The grandmother of the baby told Reuters: "This incident is unbelievable and unacceptable."

The Israel Defense Forces issued a statement saying that at that time, "they noticed a car speeding towards them", and one soldier fired a shot at the vehicle. The IDF admitted that all the injured were civilians and stated that they were investigating the incident.

Similar incidents have occurred earlier this year as well. In March this year, a Palestinian family of four were shot dead by the Israeli army while driving late at night during Ramadan in the West Bank, including two boys.