European Union foreign ministers this evening condemned Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza and demanded an immediate halt to the action.
"The Council condemned the large scale demolition of Palestinian houses in the Rafah district of Gaza as disproportionate and in conflict with international law," they said in a statement issued at their monthly meeting.
"The Council called on the Israeli government to cease such demolitions immediately."
The EU sought to balance its statement by condemning calls for violence and deploring the inhuman treatment of the remains of Israeli soldiers by Palestinians in Gaza.
The EU is a member, with the US, Russia and the UN, of the Quartet of international mediators seeking peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a "road map" agreed by all parties.
The ministers said the demolitions were in conflict with Israel's obligations under the road map.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier urged Israel to pull out of Gaza, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he wants to, but to do so in a civilised way.
"Withdrawal from Gaza is an important element which is part of the road map," Mr Barnier told a news conference. "But withdrawing from Gaza after destroying Gaza doesn't seem to me to be the right path."
Israel often accuses the EU of being biased towards the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict.
Foreign Minister Mr Silvan Shalom warned his EU counterparts at a meeting in Dublin this month that if the bloc, in its view, took the Palestinian side it would lose its role as a mediator.