The outcry was immediate. On August 11th Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, said that his country could permanently occupy the Gaza Strip. “Sanctions,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, hit back, “must be on the agenda”. It was unclear whether Mr Borrell meant they would be placed on Mr Ben-Gvir or Israel itself; either way, European support for measures targeting Israel is growing. A few months ago Micheál Martin, Ireland’s foreign minister, and a supporter of sanctions, said that his colleagues were beginning to consider the question of “what if” they went for them.