EU-Israel Ties: Hijacked by Settlements?

It is never a smart idea to make a complex relationship overly dependent on progress in one particular policy field. But this is exactly what is currently happening in the relationship between the EU and Israel. Despite the multilayered nature of relations and the generally high quality of cooperation, the issue of Israeli settlements increasingly dominates mutual perceptions and the debate between the two sides. This must be stopped, or the damage could be substantial. After I was invited to speak on EU-Israel relations at this year's Herzliya Conference on June 8-11, my preparatory research became a bit of a Groundhog Day experience. Whomever I talked to, the dominant issue came up again and again: the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.