The EU’s “reluctance to take serious action against Israel” in relation to its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank has been criticised by 27 former EU ambassadors to the Middle East and North Africa, in a letter sent to the EU institutions’ chiefs on Thursday seen by Euronews.
Signatories of the letter include the ex-EU ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Sven Kühn Von Burgsdorff, who served in the role until July 2023, and the ex-EU ambassador to Libya, James Moran.
In the letter, the former ambassadors expressed “deep concern” over the EU response since the “heinous attacks of October 7th 2023″, which the letter deeply condemned.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas attacked Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. In response, the Israeli military started incursions on Gaza, progressively occupying the Strip. As of 3 July, more than 57,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
“In short, Israel’s reaction to October 7th has been, as stated by several UN instances, indiscriminate and completely disproportionate. We note that the International Court of Justice in its provisional orders issued last year concluded that there is a plausible risk of genocide,” the letter reads.
Currently, 70% of Gaza’s territory is either within Israeli-militarised zones or under displacement orders, according to a report by the Human Rights UN agency OCHA.
The letter also deeply criticised distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip, which has been managed by Israel since April.
“We note that the humanitarian distribution system imposed by Israel and the US since April, which sidelines experienced UN agencies and International NGO’s, and neglects core humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence has only worsened the suffering,” the letter read.
In May, Euronews published Israeli plans for the future of Gaza, originally dated December 2023. The document outlined a new distribution system involving collaboration with Israel, the US, and other international partners, as well as the creation of buffer zones, some of which are already being implemented on the ground.
EU review of Association Agreement
An Association Agreement has defined the legal framework for dialogue and economic cooperation between the EU and Israel since 2000. The EU launched a review of the Agreement in May, which in June found “indications” that Israel breached its human rights obligations in respect of its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, citing a collection of findings by independent international organisations.
The former envoys criticised EU Top Diplomat Kaja Kallas in the letter for failure “from following through with concrete measures”, in relation to that finding, calling on the EU to send a “clear message to the Israeli government” by suspending the Agreement in full, even if a ceasefire is reached.
If the suspension was not reached, “At least propose the suspension of those aspects [of the agreement] falling under ‘community competence’, notably the trade preferences and horizon research programme,” the former ambassadors suggest.
To suspend the community preferences element of the agreement, it would require the consent of a qualified majority of the Council: at least 55% of member states (15 of 27), representing at least 65% of the EU population, would need to vote in favour.
“Such a proposal should also include a complete ban on trade in all products and services from, as well any business transactions with, illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank,” the letter stated.
Next Tuesday, EU foreign affairs ministers gathering in Brussels will discuss the several options on what action the EU might take.
“Failure to take any action will further tarnish the EU’s already damaged reputation in the region and more generally to its foreign policy in the wider world, where it has come in for serious criticism on the grounds of double standards vis-à-vis its principled and unambiguous stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the letter concluded.
Euronews reached out to the European Commission as well as the Israeli mission to the EU, without receiving a reply at the time of publication.
Read the full article here