Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan is leading a broad diplomatic effort across Europe to block EU sanctions on Judea and Samaria, according to a ynet report by reporter Eidan Blumenhoff. The initiative follows his meeting with Slovenian PM Janez Janša, who made an unusual blessing for Judea and Samaria residents. Dagan is also building a pro-settlement congressional caucus in Washington.
A detailed ynet report by journalist Eidan Blumenhoff describes a quiet but broad European diplomatic campaign led by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan against EU sanctions targeting Judea and Samaria. The report, published Tuesday morning, says Dagan is leveraging a personal meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša in which Janša made the extraordinary statement 'God bless the people of Judea and Samaria' — a rare public blessing from a sitting EU leader for the settlement enterprise. The initiative also includes building a pro-settlement congressional caucus in Washington, as previously reported by The Zioneer.
According to the report, Dagan's current European push follows two years of activity that led Hungary to use its veto on EU sanctions. He is now working to recruit additional European governments to block the sanctions, prevent recognition of a Palestinian state, and strengthen recognition of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. The effort runs parallel to a legislative caucus he is building in the U.S. Congress.
As The Zioneer reported on Monday at 18:26 Jerusalem, Dagan's meeting with Janša marked the beginning of the current phase. In that initial report, Dagan's office called it the first meeting between a sitting EU leader and an official representative of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. By 22:45 Jerusalem on Monday, The Zioneer had further reported the broader diplomatic push, including the Washington caucus, citing the ynet report. The timeline has now been refined: Dagan's U.S. congressional caucus effort was already underway before the meeting, as The Zioneer reported on Wednesday June 10 — when Dagan received a leadership prize from a large American legislative organization, where lawmakers told him their goal is to pass recognition of Judea and Samaria in 20 U.S. states.
What remains unclear from the available material is which specific European governments Dagan has already recruited, and whether any additional EU member states have committed to blocking sanctions beyond Hungary's precedent. The ynet report's sourcing is attributed to reporter Eidan Blumenhoff; no on-record confirmation from Dagan's office or the Slovenian government has been published by The Zioneer.
4 developments
- DevelopingYossi Dagan awarded U.S. leadership prize; lawmakers push recognition of Judea and Samaria in 20 states
- StrongSamaria council head presents plan for 18 new settlements in northern Samaria at Washington conference, wins congressional support
- DevelopingReport: France Advances Sanctions Against West Bank Settlers Over Violence Allegations
- DevelopingIDF Judea and Samaria Division chief meets local leaders in Sharon to bolster settlement security
Source and signal
- Internal intake