Last week, EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned on Israeli television that the country would face "increasing isolation" if the peace process collapsed, echoing remarks he made in January about a "price to pay" in terms of boycott and divestment initiatives by European companies.

Israel has asked the British government to "lean on universities to prevent their participation in academic boycotts of the country", according to a report in The Times.

In a meeting this week with the UK's Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts, Israeli Science Minister Yaakov Peri slammed the academic boycott campaign, and urged Willetts to "to try and put so

How Israel can breach international law, commit systematic human rights abuses and colonise Palestine with impunity is typically blamed on the role of the US, for which there is plenty of supporting evidence: from the UN Security Council veto to significant financial and military support.

But the strength and high-profile of the US-Israel relationship has meant that the role of other parties in shielding Israel's apartheid regime has not been subjected to the critical scrutiny it deserves, particularly the case with the European Union.

While those on the hard right portray the EU as represen