Israel claims that Europe is “mistaken” in response to von der Leyen’s plans to limit ties with it

The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reacted to the European Union’s plans to suspend the association agreement. This statement was made following Ursula von der Leyen’s initiative announced in Brussels.

Details

Sa’ar expressed regret over the EU’s intentions, noting several key points:

• He described the comments of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as “sad”;
• Interaction between partners now seems “unacceptable” to him;

“Europe once again sends the wrong signal, which only strengthens Hamas and radical forces in the Middle East,” noted the head of the Israeli foreign ministry.

Context

Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to suspend the agreement in her report in Strasbourg on September 10. She emphasized that “bilateral aid and payments related to the agreement will be suspended.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli army conducted targeted strikes on the top leadership of Hamas located in Qatar.

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that the decision to strike Doha was made by Benjamin Netanyahu, not himself.

Reaction to the strike in Qatar

Israeli actions were met with international condemnation, including criticism from Trump, who commented on the situation: “I am not thrilled with the current situation. We want to bring back the hostages, but we are not satisfied with the course of events.”

Sources in Qatar told the Washington Post that the emirate had previously requested guarantees from the U.S. and “Mossad” that they would not be disturbed, despite hosting Palestinian leaders on their territory.

Situation with humanitarian aid

The EU and more than 24 countries are urging Israel to urgently allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.