In response to the European Union’s directive that forbids member states from working with Israeli individuals or organizations located within illegal Israeli settlements, Israel’s Defense Minister has ordered that EU officials be given “the cold shoulder”. On 26 July, an Israeli defense department official told AFP that Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon had instructed the Israeli authorities to give EU officials “the cold shoulder”, and to “freeze contacts with European Union representatives in Area C’. Area C of the occupied West Bank is fully controlled by the Israeli military, and therefore Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon is the highest authority for the area.
The Israeli official also told AFP that meetings between EU and Israeli officials have been cancelled, EU funded projects and donations in Area C have been frozen, and travel permits for EU officials in the West Bank and Gaza will not be issued or renewed.
