An internal report by the Jewish People Policy Institute said Israel is currently facing 121 punitive measures imposed by 62 countries over its policies in the region, particularly toward the Palestinian people. The measures span countries from Australia to Canada and Chile, and from Estonia to South Africa.
اضافة اعلان
Although the Israeli government currently considers these measures “superficial” and believes they do not yet significantly affect the country’s strategic interests, the Foreign Ministry is waging an intensive campaign to contain them and prevent their expansion and escalation.
According to a senior diplomatic official, the government is “currently succeeding in containing these measures.” He cited as an example its efforts to block European Union initiatives involving boycotts and sanctions, but acknowledged that there were no guarantees that the trend toward developing and tightening sanctions could be stopped.
The study details 121 measures, including 40 economic sanctions, 24 each in the security, military and trade sectors, 14 diplomatic measures, and 12 judicial measures.
Shuki Friedman, director general of the institute, said: “These sanctions are not substantial in terms of their current impact on Israel, but they carry serious risks of further development and escalation.”
Spain leads the countries taking punitive measures against Israel, with 10 measures, including an almost complete academic boycott, a boycott of settlement leaders and restrictions on arms sales.
The United States follows with eight measures. Some academic institutions there have begun boycotting Israel, while proposals have been introduced in Congress concerning arms sales and calls to halt aid.
Britain has taken seven measures, followed by Belgium and Turkey with five each. The Netherlands and Canada have four each, while Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Nicaragua, Malaysia and Norway have three each. Finland, New Zealand and Chile have taken two measures each.
Friedman said: “These measures should now be viewed as an initial stage. Attention must be paid to examining how they could develop and expand to acquire a strategic character. An extraordinary effort is needed to prevent further deterioration.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the report by saying it “has made and continues to make extraordinary efforts to prevent further deterioration.” It said it had succeeded in containing the most serious sanctions, particularly those placed on the European Union’s agenda that could have become collective and affected sensitive areas.
According to a political source cited by Yedioth Ahronoth on Friday, “with the help of Israel’s friends in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary, the process was halted.” The source added that “the Israeli citizen does not yet feel these measures when entering a supermarket.”
However, the newspaper noted that 10 of the measures are considered serious, 56 are limited in scope, and the remainder range from minor to moderate.
Some countries are leading campaigns and creating an increasingly hostile atmosphere toward Israel that could ultimately have an impact. Britain and the Netherlands are examples of countries that, despite their close ties with Israel, have taken punitive measures.
It is also noteworthy that Israelis are increasingly encountering hostile attitudes when visiting different countries around the world.
In Europe, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States and elsewhere, hundreds of incidents have been reported in recent months in which Israelis were expelled from restaurants and cultural and academic events, while people shouted slogans such as “child killers,” “war criminals” and “Free Palestine.”
Most artists and sports teams refuse to travel to Israel, while Israeli national sports teams have been forced to play their matches at European venues.
Source: Al-Ghad / Agencies
