Hungary may drop its opposition to European Union action against settlers engaged in violent actions against innocent Palestinians as early as Monday, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The United States and the United Kingdom have already issued sanctions against such Jewish extremists.
For the EU to follow suit, it would need consensus from all 27 of its member states.
Hungary had been the sole country opposing such a step, but a diplomatic source told the Post that Budapest may no longer be able to maintain such a solitary position.
It is possible, the source said, that it may be wiser to allow the issue of setter sanctions to move forward in exchange for movement on other issues, such as expanding the list of Hamas terrorists personally sanctioned by the European Union, the diplomat speculated.
EU expected to talk settler sanctions at monthly meeting
The issue is expected to be raised on Monday when the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers hold their monthly meeting in Brussels, but it is likely that no final decision on the matter will be taken at this meeting.
The ministers are scheduled to discuss the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. They are also expected to speak separately via video conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Issues related to the pending Israeli military operation in Rafah, which has already drawn sharp opinion from top EU officials, and the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza will also likely be discussed.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in New York last week that it has been hard to achieve a consensus agreement for action against Israel over the Gaza war.
Inspired by Ireland and Spain, however, the EU foreign ministers on Monday will begin a debate on whether Israel’s action in the Gaza war should impact the foundation of its relationship with the EU, which is the Israel-Association agreement.
“We will have an orientation debate about this important, very important topic,” he said.
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