Israel Slams EU Sanctions as "Arbitrary" and "Politically Motivated"

In a post on X, Sa'ar characterised the move as a politically motivated overreach that lacks legal or factual standing.

The Foreign Minister took particular aim at the optics of the EU's decision, specifically condemning what he described as an "intolerable comparison" between Israeli civilians and Hamas militants.

He said, "Israel strongly rejects the decision to impose sanctions against Israeli citizens and organisations. The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions against Israeli citizens and entities due to their political positions and without any basis whatsoever. No less outrageous is the intolerable comparison that the European Union has chosen to draw between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a comparison that is utterly distorted from a moral perspective."

Central to the Israeli government's response was a forceful defence of Jewish settlement activity. Sa'ar framed the presence of Israelis in contested territories not as a policy violation, but as the exercise of a fundamental historical right.

"Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand by the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland. There is no nation in the world that has such a documented and long-standing right to its land as the Jewish people have to the Land of Israel. This is a moral and historical right that has been recognised even in international law, and no entity can take it away from the Jewish people. The attempt to dictate political perceptions through sanctions is unacceptable and will not succeed," he said.

This comes after Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced earlier in the day that the European Union sanctioned the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the colonisation of the West Bank, as well as their leaders.

In a post on X, Barrot had said, "It's done! The European Union is sanctioning today the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank, as well as their leaders. These most serious and intolerable acts must cease without delay."

The EU had also sanctioned the main leaders of Hamas, responsible for the antisemitic massacre.

"It is sanctioning the main leaders of Hamas, responsible for the worst antisemitic massacre in our history since the Shoah, during which 51 French people lost their lives, a terrorist movement that must imperatively be disarmed and excluded from any participation in the future of Palestine. The hope that France revived last year in New York, that of two recognised and respected States living side by side in peace and security, we will let no one undermine it," Barrot added.

Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas also voiced her concern about extremism.

"EU Foreign Ministers just gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians. They also agreed on new sanctions against leading Hamas figures. It was high time we moved from deadlock to delivery. Extremisms and violence carry consequences," she said in a post on X.

The sanctions are the first agreed to by the 27-member EU since July 2024, as per Al Jazeera.

- ANI