France pushing for tough EU response to any West Bank annexation

France is urging its European Union partners to consider threatening Israel with a tough response if it goes ahead with a de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, three EU diplomats said.

Belgium, Ireland, and Luxembourg also want to discuss the possibility of punitive economic measures during a foreign ministers’ meeting on Friday, the diplomats told Reuters, though all member states would have to agree to any collective action.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said cabinet discussions will start in July overextending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.

MORE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200511-france-pushing-for-tough-eu-response-to-any-west-bank-annexation/

France pushing for tough EU response to any West Bank annexation