Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz blasted the European Union on Wednesday, saying the bloc can “go to a thousand, thousand hells” in response to its calls for an investigation into Israeli brutality.
The EU on Tuesday condemned Israeli police’s crackdown on Israeli Arab demonstrators in Haifa who were protesting against the death toll at the Gaza border.
“It will be important, as supported by the Israeli government to conduct a swift investigation into circumstances surrounding events last week in Haifa which appeared to result in serious injury of Jafar Farah, Director of the NGO Mossawa, the Advocacy Centre for Arab Citizens in Israel,” said a statement released by the EU.
Steinitz labeled the EU as hypocritical, saying: “Let them go to a thousand, thousand hells. The EU is now sucking up to Iran and will help [Tehran] against U.S. sanctions.”
Israeli violence also martyred at least 62 Palestinians, the youngest just 8 months old, last Monday along Gaza's eastern border.
He added that he “sent to hell the European Union which doesn't really represent the European nations. This is an organization that no one is leading and is less friendly to Israel than the European states themselves.”
Israel and the EU share strong ties which feature institutional cooperation and investment programs in the scope of various agreements. Israel and the bloc have a total trade worth of 36 billion euros a year, making the EU one of Tel Aviv’s largest trade partners.
