Report: France wants tough response if Israel goes ahead with annexation

PARIS (JNS) – France is pushing members of the European Union to consider threatening Israel with tough consequences if it goes ahead with its plan to annex parts of Judea and Samaria.

Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg want to discuss the option of economic actions against Israel in a foreign ministers’ meeting on Friday, three E.U. diplomats told Reuters in a report published on Monday.

However, it’s far from clear that there will be an agreement from all E.U. members for this move, and Israeli allies such as Hungary and the Czech Republic could block it. It is also unknown what punitive measures would be proposed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that governmental talks on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley would begin in July.

An E.U. spokesman on Monday was quoted in the report as saying “annexation is contrary to international law and if annexation goes ahead, the E.U. will act accordingly.”

“There is clearly a need to look at what annexation means in the context of international law, and we do need to know our options,” said one senior E.U. diplomat involved in discussions. “We also need to say what exactly the consequences of annexation would be, ideally as a way to stop any such move.”