Israel, Europe Could Be on Collision Course -Report
October 17, 2004
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel could end up on a collision course with the European Union (news - web sites) and face sanctions like apartheid-era South Africa unless the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, a confidential government report warns.
The document, a 10-year forecast prepared by Israel's Foreign Ministry, predicts that the Jewish state could become increasingly isolated internationally as the EU grows more influential, political sources said.
The report says that if the recently expanded 25-nation bloc can set aside internal differences and forge a unified foreign policy, it could "harm Israeli interests" by cutting into the clout wielded by the United States, Israel's chief ally.
"This could put Israel on a collision course with the European Union," the report says. "Such a collision course holds the risk of Israel losing international legitimacy and could lead to its isolation in the manner of South Africa."
The report, drawn up in August by Foreign Ministry analysts and meant for use within government circles, reflects growing Israeli worries about the threat of international sanctions that could turn Israel into a pariah state.
Israel's relations with the EU have long been strained over what it sees as favoritism toward the Palestinians in their conflict with the Jewish state.
But the situation has deteriorated further in the face of European criticism of Israel's military crackdown in Palestinian areas and the vast barrier it is building largely inside the occupied West Bank.
For its part, Israel has complained of what it sees as growing anti-Semitism in Europe and inadequate efforts to combat it.
SOURCE: Reuters