The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council have supported a call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, as Europe also plans to blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.
The UNSC resolution on Monday urged a halt to fighting by “all parties” for the month of Ramadan, which ends on 9 April.
The resolution also called for the “unconditional release of all [Israeli] hostages” and ensuring humanitarian access to starving people in Gaza.
France, Malta, and Slovenia all backed the text, which passed by 14 votes with one abstention from the US out of 15.
The US abstention highlighted a divide between former allies Washington and Jerusalem, amidst failed Western attempts to curb Israeli aggression.
Israel’s military offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza in the last six months and has put 500,000 more at risk of starvation by blocking food supplies, according to EU estimates.
EU leaders called for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting for the first time since the Gaza war began on 21 March.
Europe is also set to impose visa bans and asset freezes on six extremist Israeli settlers in early Spring, joining broader Western pressure against Israeli actions in the West Bank.
Belgium, France, and the Netherlands initially proposed listing 12 names, but six were removed to appease Israel’s EU allies — the Czech Republic and Hungary, according to EU diplomatic sources.
“Cutting down to six was the only way to overcome the opposition,” said an EU diplomat on Monday.
Details of coordination with new EU sanctions on Hamas were still being discussed in Brussels, to avoid linking Israeli settlers with Hamas, which the EU deemed a “terrorist” group in 2004.
The EU settler blacklist is expected to be implemented in early April, the diplomat added.
Israeli actions have led to the deaths of over 430 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October.
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Israel has approved at least 3,500 new settler homes and seized 1,100 hectares of land in the West Bank, despite calls from the US and EU to revive a two-state solution.
Numbers tell story
H.A. Hellyer, a security expert, believes the EU blacklist of six names falls short of what is necessary to curb Israeli behavior. He stated that all settlements in the West Bank are illegal, and the EU has correctly identified them as such.
He emphasized that the entire settlement enterprise is illegal and should be treated as such. The EU sanctions will be the first of their kind since the 1967 Six-Day War when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
It is seen as the first step in a coordinated effort by the EU, US, and UK if Israel continues to escalate the situation.
Martin KoneÄŤnĂ˝, director of the European Middle East Project, expressed that what is important is the adoption of any sanctions, breaking the EU taboo on sanctioning Israelis for abuses against Palestinians.
