Renewed calls for EU to suspend Israel trade deal

Irish Times

5 days ago

The
Spanish
government has called for the
European Union
to suspend its free trade deal with Israel over its conduct during the
war in Gaza
and to sanction figures undermining a two-state solution involving
Israel
and
Palestine
.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss possible actions the bloc could take against Israel, to put pressure on
Binyamin Netanyahu
's government to address the dire humanitarian crisis it has created in Gaza.
A review ordered by EU states
found Israel's actions during its invasion of Gaza had likely breached its obligations to respect human rights
, made in Israel's 'association agreement' with the EU. The agreement governs relations between the two sides and includes a free trade deal.
Speaking on Monday, Spain's foreign minister José Manuel Albares said the EU-Israel deal should be suspended, to put pressure on Israel to stop the killing.
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'The time of words and declarations is behind ... Palestinians in Gaza have no more time to lose, every day babies, women, men are being killed,' he said on his way into the EU meeting.
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's 20-month invasion of Gaza, prompting growing calls for the EU to use what leverage it has to try to restrain Israel. The conflict ignited when 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7th 2023, according to Israeli authorities
The Spanish minister said the EU also needed to put an embargo on future weapon sales to Israel, and sanction individuals sabotaging the prospect of a two-state solution with economic sanctions.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said Ireland continued to support a full suspension of the EU-Israel deal, but said there was a lack of necessary consensus within the EU for such a move.
The EU's response to what was happening in Gaza had been much too slow and 'far too many people have been left to die as genocide has been carried out,' Mr Harris said.
The credibility of the EU was on the line, to make clear that human rights clauses in deals the union signed with other countries were not 'discretionary' and had to be respected, he said.
Domestically Mr Harris said an initial draft of legislation to ban trade coming from Israeli settlements in illegally occupied Palestinian territories would be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday.
The Occupied Territories Bill would propose banning the trade of goods, but Mr Harris said he remained 'open' to the legislation being expanded to also ban the trade of services. 'We need to have legal clarity as to whether that's possible or not, I've asked the Attorney General in relation to that,' he said.
The recent EU review noted international agencies had documented Israel bombing hospitals and destroying vital civilian infrastructure, as well as blocking the entry of all aid into Gaza, which left people in the Palestinian enclave facing starvation.
Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said his government was 'not precluding' supporting any action against Israel.
'When all the focus is on Iran and the escalation regarding Iran, we should not forget about Gaza and the terrible war that's taking place there, the terrible humanitarian situation,' he said.
A ceasefire in the fighting and an agreement by Israel to stop blocking the entry of aid into Gaza were crucial, he said.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign affairs chief who chairs the meetings, will be asked to draw up a list of possible options the union could take on foot of the recent review. Those options will likely be presented to foreign ministers at a further meeting in July.