EU: Israel will Face 'Increasing Isolation' if Talks Fail

EU: Israel will Face 'Increasing Isolation' if Talks Fail

EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen threatens Israel with 'isolation' if talks fail.

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By Tova Dvorin

First Publish: 2/3/2014, 10:29 PM

Lars Faaborg-Andersen (left) with President Shimon Peres

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EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen threatened Israel Monday over the outcome of peace talks.
"There is a risk that you will face increasing isolation [if talks fail]," Faaborg-Andersen said, in a statement to Channel 2. "Not necessarily as a result of European Union policy, but Israel has to realize that economic relations are established by private economic actors - be it consumers, be it companies - and we, as a government, has no influence on the private decisions that private citizens and companies are making." 
Faaborg-Andersen's comments came just days after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israel of similar consequences if peace talks fail, in remarks widely perceived as a threat against Israel.
"Today’s status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained," Kerry stated Saturday, at the Munich Security Conference. "It’s not sustainable. It’s illusionary. You see for Israel there’s an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up [. . .] there are talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?"
Faaborg-Andersen's remarks are not new for an EU official, with several having voiced criticism over Israeli construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. Several months ago the EU published new guidelines which boycott Israeli entities operating beyond the 1949 Armistice Lines.The EU has dangled 'unprecedented aid packages' for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) if peace talks fail. 
As such, many private companies have joined the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. In December, Dutch water company Vitens made headlines around the world when it decided to cut ties with Israeli water company Mekorot, which serves Judea and Samaria. More recently, two of the largest banks in northern Europe announced Sunday that they will boycott Israeli banks because they operate in “occupied territories."