Zionist occupiers are testing the EU..

Zionist settlers who destroy crops, burn olive groves, demolish homes and water tanks, poison wells, and even kill livestock know no bounds. Israel and its settlers label Palestinians who defend their homes and hearths as "terrorists" and slaughter them.

The day before yesterday, four more Palestinians from the same family were killed in attacks by illegal Zionist settlers in the West Bank. According to United Nations data, since October 2023, at least 35 of the more than 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank have lost their lives in settler attacks.

Currently, around 700,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank. This number is increasing every day. The European Union, which claims to support the so‑called "two‑state solution" and designates the settlements as illegal, does nothing beyond condemning them. Exports from the settlements to the EU continue. Many products are packaged under Israeli brands and sent to European countries.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that Jewish settlements violate international law and must be removed. In a later ruling, the same court also warned countries to take steps to prevent trade or investment relationships that help maintain Israel's illegal situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Of course, these statements did not change the situation.

The EU manages the situation by imposing symbolic sanctions on only a very small number of settlers. In October 2021, 12 European Union countries supposedly reacted to the Israeli administration for approving the construction of more than 3,000 new housing units in illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The statement also included the phrase: "We reiterate our firm opposition to policies that violate international law, undermine efforts to achieve a two‑state solution, and expand settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories." At the time the statement was issued, the number of settlers in the West Bank had not yet reached 500,000.

The US‑backed Netanyahu government, meanwhile, is implementing plans for the annexation of the West Bank step by step. The European Union's stance on the settlements is little more than a policy of "neither fish nor fowl." On July 13, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels discussed trade sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. No satisfactory decision was expected, and none was reached. The EU ministers once again merely postponed the decision on trade sanctions until October.

The EU refrains from imposing deterrent trade sanctions on the Israeli government, which encourages, arms, and protects the settlers, and on the settlers themselves. In debates within the EU, one wing argues that "unanimity" is needed to restrict or end trade with Israel and the settlements, while another wing wants the matter to be addressed with only a "qualified majority."

The EU is stalling by dragging out the issue, thereby financing illegal settlers. Even Israel's genocide in Gaza has not prompted the EU to change its current policy. Although 157 of the UN's 193 members have officially recognized Palestine, the Security Council's hands are tied due to the US veto threat.

Among EU member states, only Ireland, Belgium, and Spain have imposed restrictions on trade with illegal settlements. On July 21, the Dutch government also took a similar decision. This decision, which will come into effect on September 22, is also limited to the settlements alone. However, trade bans that do not cover Israel seem unlikely to deter the settlers.

On Friday, the genocidal Netanyahu announced that he had instructed the acceleration of the process for recognizing illegal settlement units in the West Bank and establishing new ones. While Israel does everything, including genocide, to kill the "Palestinian state," the European Union continues to apply superficial measures. The way to stop the settlements is through comprehensive sanctions on Israel. Non‑deterrent policies only embolden Israel.

Israel's impunity, no matter what it does, is the sole reason for the genocide of Palestinians. The US and the Western world, the self‑proclaimed guardians of the rules‑based liberal international order, have shown the whole world by giving Israel free rein that this order consists of "masters" and "those beneath them." However, the balance of power in the world is changing, and this order cannot continue as it is.