Israel is losing its strongest footholds in Europe.

Israel lost its strongest ally in Europe last week, after Viktor Orban was ousted from power in Hungary, while Italy suspended a key defense cooperation agreement.

The Guardian writes that these moves could pave the way for long-delayed sanctions against violent settlers in the occupied West Bank, but also further increase pressure for the European Union (EU) to reconsider its relationship with Israel due to the wars in Gaza and the wider region.

"The Hungarian veto was the only obstacle to the sanctions package against violent settlers," said Maya Zion-Tsidkiyahu, director of the Israel-Europe Relations Program at the Mitvim think tank and a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's European Forum.

"I expect that when the new Tisa government takes power, this will be among the first issues the EU will try to push through, and that it will be easy for Peter Magyar to say 'yes'. Netanyahu, from the perspective of many Europeans, is on the wrong side of history and a symbol of Orban's policies."

EU officials expect to revive sanctions against a small number of extremist settlers after Hungary's new government takes office next month. Ireland, Spain and Slovenia - among Europe's staunchest supporters of the Palestinian cause - called for a discussion of Israel's human rights obligations under its association agreement with the EU at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday.

"The European Union can no longer stand aside," the foreign ministers of the three countries wrote in a letter to European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, pointing to the "unbearable" conditions in Gaza and the "escalation of violence against Palestinians" in the West Bank.

Although sanctions against the settlers are largely seen as a symbolic move targeting a small group with limited ties to Europe, their adoption could strengthen the willingness to consider broader measures, including the suspension of parts of the agreement that forms the basis of EU-Israel relations, writes The Guardian.

The British newspaper states that the EU is Israel's most important trading partner, the most popular travel destination for its citizens, and a key source of funding for scientific research through the multi-billion-euro Horizon program, but that it has never managed to translate this economic power into serious political influence in Israel.

"Now the debate about pressure and leverage has been reopened," said Martin Konečný, director of the European Middle East Project, in Brussels. "If you take one step and the situation does not improve, the pressure to take the next one quickly builds up again."

More than 390 former EU ministers, ambassadors and senior officials called on the Union last week to suspend, in whole or in part, the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel.

Among the signatories are former European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, former Swedish foreign minister and UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, and former European Commission Vice President Margot Wallström.

A public petition with the same request has collected more than a million signatures from all 27 member states, making it the fastest growing petition of its kind, according to its initiators.

The EU is Israel's most important trading partner, the most popular destination for its citizens, and a key source of funding for scientific research, but it has never managed to translate that economic power into serious political influence.

Freezing all or part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would require the support of Germany or Italy, as this requires the support of a "qualified majority" of at least 15 member states representing 65 percent of the EU's population.

An attempt to suspend trade provisions last September, in response to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, never crossed that threshold. After US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal in October, the plans stalled.

Citing EU sources, the Guardian reports that upcoming talks between Israel and Lebanon are likely to curb any immediate EU action, as many European countries are wary of disrupting sensitive negotiations.

Italy's political shift, signaled by its decision to suspend the defense cooperation agreement, means the renewed proposal could have a better chance of passing, the newspaper points out.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been among Israel's closest friends in Europe, as one of the few far-right leaders to cultivate close personal relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She has regularly defied public sentiment in a country that has seen some of the largest protests in Europe against Israel's wars, and in a political environment where pro-Palestinian sentiment runs across the political spectrum, from the left to the center-right.

It was based on a separation between foreign and domestic policy that is no longer sustainable, says Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome's Luiss University. "For the first time since World War II, foreign policy has become a central issue for Italian public opinion," he said. "The reason is simple: this is a conflict with direct geopolitical and economic consequences for Italy and for Europe as a whole."

The suspension of the defense memorandum appears more symbolic than substantive, as it provided a framework for defense contracts that would remain in place, but it served as a "clear warning" to Israel, one European diplomat said.

Israel has been effective in using its closest bilateral relations to block or mitigate hostile EU policies, in an approach that Zion-Zedekiah describes as "divide and conquer."

He can still count on the support of long-time allies, including Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic, and if Netanyahu loses power in elections held this year, the Hungarian could build a closer relationship with his successor, the analysis says.

But, it added, political ties with Israel are becoming increasingly costly for European leaders. The impact of regional wars is amplified by Netanyahu’s close alliance with Trump, who regularly attacks Europe, mocks its culture and values, undermines its economy, and has even threatened invasion. Many Europeans who call for tougher measures against Israel say that core European values ​​are at stake, and that failure to respond will undermine the international rule of law.

"The absence of significant measures against Israel, compared to the extensive sanctions imposed on Russia, has raised concerns about double standards and risks undermining the EU's international credibility," said Pasquale Ferrara, a former senior Italian diplomat and professor.

Concerns about maintaining Israel's alliances in Europe may have contributed to an unusual public spat last week, in which Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for attacking German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

After Smotrič published a tirade in which he referred to the Nazi regime, Prosor "unequivocally condemned" the comments, accusing the minister of distorting the memory of the Holocaust.

Zion-Tsidkiyahu commented: "When Israel depends on so few countries, and Germany is the main one because Meloni turned his back on it, that relationship must be preserved."

The absence of significant measures against Israel, compared to the extensive sanctions imposed on Russia, has raised concerns about double standards and risks undermining the EU's international credibility.

Since the Gaza war, German public opinion has, like in Italy, moved away from the government's staunch support for the Israeli authorities. Most voters are now critical of Netanyahu's administration, but, as the Guardian points out, Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust means it would never lead criticism of Israel.

Merz has criticized violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and has largely avoided his predecessor Angela Merkel's formulation that Israel's security is a "Staatsräson" or "state reason" for Germany. However, he said in an interview last year that Israel's security remains at the very heart of German foreign policy.

The loss of Orban and the distancing of Đorđe Meloni have received limited attention in Israel, where foreign policy debates are dominated by the wars in Iran and Lebanon, as well as the relationship with the US.

According to The Guardian, few Israelis realize the extent to which ties with Europe support their standard of living. The newspaper reports that a survey conducted in August 2025 by the Mitvim research center showed that two-thirds of Israelis see the EU as an adversary, and only 14 percent as a friend.

"All Israelis know that we depend on the US for security, but they don't understand that we depend on the European Union for the economy," Zion-Tsidkiyahu said. "We have managed to diversify our trade, but the EU is still the largest bloc we export to and import from."