Israel has told the EU it would be making a “huge mistake” if it partially suspends Israeli participation in flagship research programme Horizon Europe.
The European Commission put forward the proposal on Tuesday after the bloc found that Israel had breached a human rights clause that is enshrined in EU-Israel relations.
EU officials say a deal struck to allow more aid into Gaza has been insufficiently implemented by Israel and ministers are pushing for a strong response from the bloc.
Support for the measure from the Dutch government triggered a spat with Israel. Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp also announced a visa ban on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
“The [Dutch] government’s goal is crystal clear: the people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid,” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X, as he expressed support for the EU Commission proposal.
In response, Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X that “it will be a huge mistake if EU takes such steps, especially in light of Israel’s ongoing and upgraded humanitarian efforts”.
The Netherlands is the second EU country to impose travel bans on the ministers after Slovenia took similar measures this month. The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza.
The clash on X between Mr Schoof and Mr Herzog is yet another signal of the deepening gulf between Europe and Israel. It comes after Israel on Monday banned access to Gaza at the last minute to a senior EU official in charge of humanitarian aid, Maciej Popowski.
The EU Commission has suggested suspending the participation of Israeli start-ups operating with dual-use technologies − such as in cybersecurity, drones and artificial intelligence − from an EU-funded accelerator programme. To be adopted, the proposal requires the backing of 15 of the bloc's 27 member states.
The measure is widely viewed as symbolic. It is the first concrete step taken by the EU in response to Israel's alleged breaches of international law the Gaza war. There has been growing international outrage over reports of mass famine in Gaza.
Mr Schoof said he also supports further measures against Israel, including “in the realm of trade” as well as “national measures to increase the pressure”.
In May, the Netherlands rallied support from a majority of member states to request that the EU's external action service (EEAS) conduct an internal review of Israel's compliance with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The demand came as alarm grew over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and violence against Palestinians at the hands of extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
On June 20, the EEAS circulated the result of its review, based on findings by international bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the UN. It found that Israel had indeed breached its human rights obligations in Gaza.
As a result, EU foreign affairs minister Kaja Kallas, suggested last month a list of 10 measures that could be taken against Israel. Most of them, including a full or partial suspension of Israel's participation in Horizon Europe, as well as suspending trade preferences, must first be tabled by the European Commission.
The measures were discussed at the last meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, but at the time, ministers decided to wait to see how Israel respected a deal struck with Ms Kallas to allow more aid into Gaza.
Israel has in the past days allowed more aid into Gaza, but the implementation of the deal has been deemed insufficient by the EU's humanitarian services.
The five pillars of Islam
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
