BRUSSELS: European Union (EU) foreign ministers to consider next possible move in response to the Middle East crisis, including travel bans for Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank.
During a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the ministers from the European block countries will also discuss future security assistance to Ukraine.
The start of the war between Israel Hamas has forced the EU to adopt a new approach on the Middle East.
The war in Gaza has caused deep divisions among EU nation, but the ministers will try to find out a common approach and range of possible next steps during the meeting.
EU officials voice alarm at rising violence by Israeli settlers
Senior EU officials such as foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, have also voiced alarm at increasing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Earlier, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that extremist settlers in the West Bank should be banned from entering the country.
As per reports a US decision last week, Israel’s biggest supporter, to start imposing visa bans on people involved in violence in the West Bank could encourage EU nations to take similar steps.
According to Gaza’s health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, more than 18,000 people have been killed, the majority of them women and children.
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The Israeli raids have almost destroyed entire neighborhoods in northern Gaza. Israeli ground troops have been facing heavy resistance from Hamas fighters in the area.
According to the UN some 1.87 million Palestinians, over 80 percent of Gaza’s population, have left their homes.
