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EU foreign ministers will engage in a series of meetings on Monday with counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Arab nations. Ahead of the meeting on Friday, the EU added six individuals to an asset freeze and visa ban blacklist for financing Hamas.
EU foreign ministers will hold a series of meetings Monday with counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and key Arab nations about the war in Gaza and prospects for a future peace settlement, officials said.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki are not expected to meet each other during their Brussels visits.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Sameh Choukry; Jordan, Ayman Safadi; and Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan; and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, will also meet with European ministers in Brussels as fears swirl that a wider conflict could engulf the Middle East.
European diplomats said their aim is to sound out each side over ways to end the violence on the ground and the next steps towards a longer-term solution.
The EU has struggled for a united stance on the conflict in Gaza as staunch backers of Israel, such as Germany, have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire from the likes of Spain and Ireland.
EU officials have sketched out broad demands for "the day after" the current war ends in Gaza, calling for no long-term Israeli occupation, an end to Hamas' rule, and a role for the Palestinian Authority in running the territory.
The 27-nation bloc, along with the United States, believes the creation of a Palestinian state remains the only viable way to secure lasting peace. But Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected that suggestion on Thursday.
France has said the EU will adopt sanctions on Hamas over the October 7 attack on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting, the European Union on Friday added six individuals to an asset freeze and visa ban blacklist for financing the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Brussels said those sanctioned included Musa Dudin, a senior member of Hamas' investment office, along with Sudan-based financier Abdelbasit Hamza al-Hassan Mohamed Khair, senior Hamas financier Rida Ali Khamis, Nabil Chouman and his son Khaled Chouman, and Algeria-based financier Aiman Ahmad al-Duwaik, according to a statement from the council.
“The new sanctions framework shall apply until January 19, 2025. It shall be kept under constant review and renewed or amended as appropriate,” the statement added.
"We are listing six people that have been participating in financing or facilitating the financing of Hamas," a high-ranking EU official said.
"They will get their assets frozen in the European Union, and they will get a travel ban to enter our territory."
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
EU foreign ministers will hold a series of meetings Monday with counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and key Arab nations about the war in Gaza and prospects for a future peace settlement, officials said.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki are not expected to meet each other during their Brussels visits.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Sameh Choukry; Jordan, Ayman Safadi; and Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan; and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, will also meet with European ministers in Brussels as fears swirl that a wider conflict could engulf the Middle East.
European diplomats said their aim is to sound out each side over ways to end the violence on the ground and the next steps towards a longer-term solution.
The EU has struggled for a united stance on the conflict in Gaza as staunch backers of Israel, such as Germany, have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire from the likes of Spain and Ireland.
EU officials have sketched out broad demands for "the day after" the current war ends in Gaza, calling for no long-term Israeli occupation, an end to Hamas' rule, and a role for the Palestinian Authority in running the territory.
The 27-nation bloc, along with the United States, believes the creation of a Palestinian state remains the only viable way to secure lasting peace. But Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected that suggestion on Thursday.
EU Targets Financing
France has said the EU will adopt sanctions on Hamas over the October 7 attack on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting, the European Union on Friday added six individuals to an asset freeze and visa ban blacklist for financing the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Brussels said those sanctioned included Musa Dudin, a senior member of Hamas' investment office, along with Sudan-based financier Abdelbasit Hamza al-Hassan Mohamed Khair, senior Hamas financier Rida Ali Khamis, Nabil Chouman and his son Khaled Chouman, and Algeria-based financier Aiman Ahmad al-Duwaik, according to a statement from the council.
“The new sanctions framework shall apply until January 19, 2025. It shall be kept under constant review and renewed or amended as appropriate,” the statement added.
"We are listing six people that have been participating in financing or facilitating the financing of Hamas," a high-ranking EU official said.
"They will get their assets frozen in the European Union, and they will get a travel ban to enter our territory."
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
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