UN rights investigator says EU should punish any Israeli annexation in West Bank

The UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories urged the EU on Friday to consider measures to prevent or punish any Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. Friday’s statement by Michael Lynk said the EU should back up its warnings against Israeli plans with “a decisive menu of counter-measures.”

The statement came a few days after more than 1,000 European lawmakers made a similar plea, Reuters reports.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to abandon its annexation of settlements in the West Bank, warning this threatened any chance of a negotiated peace with the Palestinians, who seek statehood in the territory.

On June 23, European lawmakers called for “commensurate consequences” if Israel, which has more than 400,000 settlers in the West Bank, went ahead with the annexation.