European officials revealed to American magazine “Politico” on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) is set to announce new sanctions next Monday targeting individuals associated with the Palestinian movement Hamas and its sources of funding.
Sources familiar with the European sanctions told “Bloomberg” that the sanctions had reached a “technical level of completion,” but their formal approval is pending during the upcoming meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
The EU classifies Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” and several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Israel, also label the group as such.
Last Tuesday, the EU added Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas’s political office in Gaza, to its “terrorist list.” As a result, Sinwar’s assets were frozen in the EU’s 27 member states, and European citizens are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.
The European Council stated that this decision is part of the EU’s response to the threat posed by Hamas and its heinous and indiscriminate terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th last year.
Previously, in December, the EU had listed two officials from the military wing of the group, Mohammad Al-Deif, the leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and his deputy Marwan Issa, on the “terrorism” list, subjecting them to sanctions.
One official told “Politico” that the new European measures expected to be announced on Monday are separate from the current sanctions imposed on Hamas.
He emphasized that the new sanctions are “necessary to target Hamas’s funding sources.”
Simultaneously, some EU member states have called for sanctions against Israeli extremist settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“Politico” reported that these sanctions were proposed by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, in December, but two officials described the issue of imposing sanctions on both Hamas and Israeli settlers simultaneously as a “politically sensitive matter.”
A source told “Bloomberg” that the EU is considering travel bans, asset freezes, and a ban on imports of products produced by settlers but noted that these measures have not been finalized.
