EU ready to sanction Israel over stolen grain after ignoring war crimes

The EU has warned that it is ready to sanction anyone in Israel who is “aiding and abetting” the trade of Ukrainian grain, which Russia stole.

The shipment of stolen grain arrived in Haifa on a Panama-flagged vessel. It is allegedly carrying over 6,200 tonnes of wheat and 19,000 tonnes of barley. However, the ship is yet to unload.

Importantly, though, the EU has ignored all of Israel’s war crimes for years. It has refused to sanction Israel over the illegal attacks and mass murder of Palestinians, Iranians, and Lebanese people.

EU Silence is complicity

It says a lot about the collective values of Western countries when the hard red line is stolen grain.

But even Ukraine has been a staunch supporter of Israel — until this point.

Now, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, has urged Israel to turn the Russian vessel away. He said his government would start preparing “relevant sanctions”, in coordination with Europeans, against those:

attempting to profit from this criminal scheme.

The EU has already sanctioned several Russians over the theft of Ukrainian grain. Additionally, in 2024, it agreed to put tariffs on grain products from both Russia and Belarus in response to the thefts.

However, EU-level sanctions require unanimity among the 27 member states. Of course, when it comes to Israel, some EU countries, such as Germany and Italy, refuse to stand up to the genocidal terrorist state. 

In response to the stolen grain arriving in Haifa, Ukraine’s foreign minister said Kyiv had summoned Israel’s ambassador.

The hard red line?

Occupation, colonisation and apartheid were not enough for the EU to take action against Israel.

Neither was a United Nations (UN) commission, which ruled that the settler-colonial state was committing genocide against Palestinians.

Or the evidence from Human Rights Watch, which verified that Israel had used White Phosphorous — an incendiary weapon that is illegal to deploy in civilian areas — over residential areas in both Southern Lebanon and Gaza.

And the ruling that Israel is deliberately depriving Gaza of food and water.

Yet the EU wants to take a stand now, over some stolen grain.

Does the EU really place more value on stolen grain than the lives of people in West Asia?

Of course, we should now expect Israel to accuse both the EU and Ukraine of being antisemitic. And who knows, maybe the grain was also promised to Israel 3000 years ago?

Hypocrisy

In what world is it okay for the EU to greenlight Israel’s genocide but then draw the line at buying stolen grain?

The decisions by the EU are nothing short of racist.

The long and short of it is, nearly 95% of Ukrainians are white, unlike the majority of Palestinians, who are Arab.

When Russia launched its illegal invasion of Ukraine, the majority of European countries opened their doors to Ukrainian refugees.

However, Palestinians do not get the same treatment.

Both situations involve a colonial power. However, the West reacts completely differently when it’s Israel murdering brown people.

Of course, the EU should sanction Israel. But it should have done that years ago.

It should not take grain being stolen by another violent and expansive country, which happens to also be a threat to Europe, for the EU to think about putting its foot down.

The EU should be prioritising human rights and international law. Instead, it places less importance on the lives of people in West Asia than it does on a boatload of grain.

Human rights are human rights — no matter the colour of someone’s skin, their religion, or where they were born.

Feature image via Al Jazeera English/YouTube

By HG

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