EU commissioner calls for Palestine recognition as bloc mulls trade curbs on Israel

The EU’s Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, has renewed calls for recognition of a Palestinian state after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed measures to sanction extremist Israeli ministers and curb trade ties with Israel over Gaza. 

In an interview with Belgian broadcaster VRT News on Thursday, Lahbib reiterated that the EU rapidly needs to recognise the State of Palestine amid growing criticism of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023.

The commissioner, who oversees EU humanitarian aid, told VRT News that work on a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict should begin soon and not remain "just a slogan". 

This follows Lahbib’s earlier statement that it was "time for the EU to find a collective voice on Gaza" by stepping up pressure on Israel.  

This came as von der Leyen delivered a strong rebuke of the Israeli government on Wednesday, denouncing plans for illegal settlements that would split the occupied West Bank in two, as well as incitement to violence by extremist Israeli ministers, describing these moves as a "clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution". 

Despite stopping short of mentioning recognition of a Palestinian state, von der Leyen described Europe's failure to agree on a united response to Gaza as "painful".  

During her Wednesday announcement, she proposed that the EU executive should suspend its support for Israel, with the exception of funding for civil society organisations and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre.  

Such measures, however, would require approval from the bloc’s 27 member states, which remain deeply divided over how to respond to Israel’s actions in Gaza. 

Lahbib, who previously served as Belgium's foreign minister, has consistently pushed a tougher stance on Israel than the European Commission itself, previously calling for EU entry bans on extremist Israeli settlers and repeatedly backing steps toward recognising Palestine. 

These latest developments come as Israel’s military ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate ahead of a planned offensive, despite hundreds of thousands still facing famine conditions.  

Von der Leyen, already under fire for what critics have described as the EU’s inadequate response to the nearly two-year genocidal war in Gaza, has since faced renewed criticism. 

Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard wrote on social media platform X (previously Twitter) that von der Leyen’s proposals were "shamefully late", adding that "the EU can no longer ignore millions of protestors who for the last 23 months have denounced Israel’s crimes". 

Callamard also urged Germany and Italy not to block the measures if they come to a vote. 

The genocide in Gaza has fuelled mass demonstrations across European cities and sharpened criticism of the EU’s bureaucracy for its perceived failure to meaningfully pressure Israel to halt its attacks on civilian areas and allow greater humanitarian access to the Strip. 

Within the bloc, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland have been among the strongest critics of Israel, while Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic have defended it - with Germany serving as Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States.