German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says the European Union has not ruled out the possibility of slapping new sanctions on the Israeli regime.
“The European Union has already imposed sanctions against Israeli settlement organizations. We support those,” Wadephul said on Saturday following senior Israeli officials threatening to kill more people in the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli so-called National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir earlier this month called on Israeli regime forces to target 30-40 civilians in Gaza each day.
“I think targeted killings should be carried out in Gaza, remove 30, 40 [people] every night,” Ben-Gvir said in a podcast.
The hawkish Zionist leader added, “Not just those who pose an immediate threat. No, there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”
The comments also drew a sharp response from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who condemned the call to carry out “targeted killings” of Palestinians.
Merz’s conservatives followed suit. “Ben-Gvir’s inhumane remarks can only be condemned,” Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union parliamentary group, told POLITICO. “The EU should sanction him as a sign of the universal validity of human dignity and human rights.”
Hardt said he believed if Ben-Gvir and fellow far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich were removed, Tel Aviv would be able to foster better relations with Brussels.
He urged the German leadership to support sanctions against the two extremist Israeli officials.
