EU warnings to Israel remain unheard

[Jefferson23]

At a seminar hosted by the Geneva Initiative on June 27, the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, said that EU member states "are losing their patience with concerns not being treated" by Israel. The ambassador was referring to warnings published in France, Spain and Italy about maintaining economic ties with Israeli companies operating in the occupied territories.

On July 4, 2013, I published an article here titled, “EU Loses Patience with Israel.” That was after the European Commission published directives stating that any Israeli organization asking for funds, for the right to participate in a project or compete for EU grants or prizes must first declare that it has no ties to settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.

At the same time, in early July, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni expressed herself in the same way. Livni, who's responsible for the diplomatic process with the Palestinians, told the audience at an accountants’ conference in Eilat that in Europe, “Israel is seen as a colonialist state. Therefore, it won't stop at the settlements, but [will spread] to all of Israel.”

snip*Even if the European wolf continues to act like a sheep, Israel cannot ignore the elephant in the center of the room forever — that is, the settlement enterprise that tramples every chance to achieve peace.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/european-union-boycott-settlement-west-bank-golan-heights.html#ixzz36EfIg23R