Former EU leaders call to sanction and boycott Israel

The Jerusalem Post- According to letter: Israel, “like any other state,” should answer for “the consequences” and “a price tag” for construction of housing in West Bank.

Twenty-six former European Union leaders, including the EU’s former top diplomat, Javier Solana, issued a letter last week calling for boycotts and sanctions targeting Israel due to settlement construction.

According to the letter, which was reported on the euobserver.com website and addressed to EU leaders, the Jewish state, “like any other state,” ought to be slapped with “the consequences” and “a price tag” for its construction of housing in the West Bank.

Ten former European leaders signed the December 6 letter, including Germany’s former president Richard von Weizsäcker and ex-chancellor Helmut Schmidt, former Irish president Mary Robinson, former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez and Thorvald Stoltenberg, an ex-Norwegian foreign and defense minister.

The 26 signatories called for the EU to prohibit import of products made in settlements, and demanded that Israel fund the bulk of aid to Palestinians. The letter also urged the EU to make an upgrade of relations with Israel contingent on the cessation of settlement construction. Read more