EU Moves to Partially Suspend ’Israel’ From Research Program Amid Gaza Crisis

By Staff, Agencies

The European Union is preparing to partially cut the "Israeli" entity’s access to the bloc’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, citing "Tel Aviv’s" failure to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

EU insiders reported the development on Monday, saying the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, was about to pass a decision on the matter.

The bloc began dwelling on the decision to enact the suspension after the entity refused to honor a prior agreement to substantially boost the flow of food and medical aid to Palestinians in the coastal sliver.

It had compelled the entity to act on the agreement, given that "Tel Aviv" had all but choked off the flow of desperately needed aid into Gaza during its ongoing war of genocide on the territory.

The suspension targets "Israeli" start-ups involved in such technologies as cyberspace, drones, and artificial intelligence that could be used by the entity to target Palestinians.

Until now, EU officials, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, had resisted moving towards imposing punitive measures on the entity.

Observers cite opposition on the part of key "Tel Aviv" allies such as Germany, the UK, France, Austria, and Hungary as the reason behind the drawn-out procrastination.

EU member states are now set to discuss and possibly vote on the suspension as early as Tuesday as the above members reportedly stand ready to roundly reject the move.

Observers say, while unanimity is not required, such rejection could complicate the move.

They, however, also note that support from larger nations such as Spain and Italy could tip the scales.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic,” demanding “immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid.” 

A source, meanwhile, addressed the so-called aid distribution points that the entity has set up across Gaza, where thousands of starving Palestinians swarm for meager foodstuff packages, while being constantly targeted with deadly "Israeli" fire.