The labour MEP, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, has called for the suspension of the EU's trade agreement with Israel in protest against Israel's military action in the West Bank.
Speaking in the European Parliament on his return from a visit to the refugee camp at Jenin, Mr De Rossa said that suspending the agreement would be a measured response to Israel's actions.
"It is essential that Europe commences the process of suspending the trade agreement with Israel as a demonstration of our determination that Israel complies with the rule of law.
"This is a moderate step. It is not a cutting-off of relations with Israel. It's the suspension of the special terms which Israel enjoys. It should be tied to conditions such as withdrawal of the Israeli defence forces from Palestinian areas, free unhindered access for medical and humanitarian aid, full co-operation with a UN investigation in Jenin," he said.
Mr De Rossa was part of a European Parliament delegation that visited the Middle East earlier this week.
He said that the EU should provide digging equipment to help with recovering bodies from the rubble in Jenin.
Although he stopped short of accusing Israel of committing a war crime in the town, he said that there had clearly been breaches of human rights.
"What I saw in Jenin leaves me in no doubt that serious breaches of human rights took place there; the shooting by the Israeli defence forces of men and women, the blockading of the hospital, denial of medical aid to the wounded, the wholesale destruction of homes leaving 1,300 families homeless," he said.
Mr De Rossa said that it was important to avoid inflammatory language about the Middle East conflict.
But he suggested that the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, represented an obstacle to peace.
"Having spoken to ambassadors in Tel Aviv, Israeli peace activists, Palestinian and Israeli elected representatives and seen the devastation in Jenin, I have no doubt that Prime Minister Sharon is determined to prevent the emergence of a sustainable independent Palestinian state.
"How else can we explain his destruction of the civil, political, social and security infrastructure of the Palestinian Legislative Authority?" Mr De Rossa asked.
