Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister accuses the EU of weaponizing a “socially acceptable mask” of anti-Zionism to target the Jewish state â after Brussels sanctioned Israeli civil society groups that oppose Palestinian statehood.
“We are witnessing a deeply troubling trend where traditional  a new, socially acceptable mask: anti-Zionism,” Israels Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told Fox News Digital. “Where prejudice once targeted the individual Jew, it is now directed at the collective Jewish state and our fundamental right to live in our ancestral homeland. But make no mistake, the political targeting of Israel always bleeds into an assault on Jewish life itself,” Haskel added.Â
The imposed the sanctions on four Israeli civil society organizations and three of their senior figures, alleging support for “settler violence” and claiming they undermine prospects for a Palestinian state â a move that Regavim, one of the groups targeted, described as an infringement on Israeli sovereignty.
“Our entire activity consists of legal and parliamentary work. We collect and analyze information and policies and go to court and the legislature to highlight areas where Israels policy is either lacking or misguided,” Naomi Kahn, Regavims Director of International Division, told Fox News Digital.
“The European Union is trying to control the internal political system and policies of an independent state that is supposed to be an ally. When we point out the absurdity of the situation, they dont like it,” she said.
In its announcement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that “extremist settlers and the organizations supporting them contribute directly to violence, and dispossession across the West Bank.”
The sanctions, according to the EEAS, “target entities and individuals that facilitate, finance or support activities contributing to settler violence and serious human rights abuses against Palestinians.”
The statement also accused Regavim of lobbying for “the demolition of Palestinian property” and referenced an EU-funded school in Jabbet al-Dhib near Bethlehem.
Kahn said the school was constructed illegally on Israeli state land in Area C, within a nature reserve connected to the Herodian complex. She said legal proceedings were carried out regarding the structure and that it was ultimately demolished.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, negotiated during the Clinton administration, the into three areas: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under Palestinian civil authority with Israeli security control; and Area C, under full Israeli administrative and security control.
Kahn added that an engineering assessment found the school unsafe for use, arguing that placing students and teachers inside it posed “downright dangerous” conditions.
“We pointed out that the E.U. and the Palestinian Authority are simply violating the law in a very purposeful, systematic way to take control of Area C using structures like schools, sometimes mosques, and homes of innocent people that they push into those areas,” she added.
Regavim has published a report claiming there are 100 illegal schools in Area C that it says are being used by the P.A. as part of a broader strategy of de facto annexation.
Separately, a 2023 mapping study by Regavim estimated that roughly 103,000 unauthorized Arab-built structures exist across the West Bank, asserting that the P.A.âoften with external support â has facilitated extensive illegal construction activity.
In response, Israels cabinet last month approved a set of broad measures aimed at countering efforts by the P.A. to establish de facto control over disputed territories.
Under the resolution, initiatives attributed to Ramallah to create a parallel land registry in Area C were declared to have no legal validity or standing.
“The real target here is not violence, but legitimate political opposition. The sa
