Quarterly Updates for (16 May 2013 — 15 Aug 2013)

While the EU and Ashton did not depart from long-standing positions such as supporting peace talks and criticizing settlement construction, this quarter was marked by unusual tension between Israel and the EU. Ashton visited Israel and the West Bank on 6/20 as part of a regional tour, meeting with senior officials on both sides. Soon afterward, at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 6/25 that expressed support for Kerry’s efforts to rekindle direct talks, Ashton made clear that the foreign ministers would not be drafting a res. on the Middle East, seemingly a gesture to Israel that an EU statement would very likely contain substantial criticism of its policies. The next month, however, a significant row broke out when the European Commission published (7/19) new guidelines (see Doc. A2 in this JPS issue) barring EU agencies from funding Israeli entities and activities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. The same day, Ashton published a statement clarifying that publication of the guidelines was not intended to undermine Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy, and on 7/23 she was reported to be pushing for the correct labeling of Israeli products originating in the 1967-o.t. In apparent retaliation, Israel reportedly took steps to make it difficult for the EU to work in the oPt, with unnamed Western diplomats claiming that the measures included denying permits for European humanitarian aid staff to enter the Gaza Strip (7/26). By the end of the quarter (8/9), Ashton’s spokesperson, Michael Mann was saying that the EU was ready to hold discussions with Israel clarifying the guidelines and that the European body looked forward to “continued successful EU-Israel cooperation, including in the area of scientific cooperation.”