The European Union needs to show leadership and hold Israel to account for the “brutal” war it continues to wage in Gaza, the governments of Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg and Slovenia privately warned in correspondence this week.
Israel was involved in the “systematic targeting” of humanitarian actors in its “ceaseless” military campaign in Gaza, the four governments told the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.
In a letter on Monday, seen by The Irish Times, the governments said the EU should review its long standing trade agreement with Israel as a way to put diplomatic pressure on Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
International law and basic humanitarian principles were being “blatantly ignored and disregarded by Israel”, the letter said. “The unprecedented gravity of the situation on the ground requires a proactive approach and visible leadership from the European Union,” it stated.
The letter to Ms Kallas was signed by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris, and the foreign ministers of Spain, Luxembourg and Slovenia, José Manuel Albares, Xavier Bettel and Tanja Fajon respectively. Gaza remained at “critical risk of famine”, the ministers told Ms Kallas.
An almost three-month blockade of food and humanitarian aid for Gaza has seen renewed international pressure put on Israel, to avert the mass starvation of Palestinian civilians inside the war-torn enclave.
In a significant shift, a majority of EU states sided with Ireland, Spain and others to order a review of the bloc’s trading agreement with Israel.
Some 17 of the EU’s 27 states supported a proposal to review the EU-Israel “association” agreement, which governs relations, to determine if Israel’s actions in Gaza had breached commitments to respect human rights.
Germany, Hungary, Greece and the Czech Republic were among the nine EU states who opposed the proposal, at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
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Israeli officials had been lobbying to stall efforts to trigger the review, according to one senior EU diplomat involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The review will likely be carried out by officials from the European Commission’s diplomatic corps, who report to Ms Kallas.
Ireland and Spain previously called for a review of the EU’s “association agreement” with Israel in February 2024 but found little support for the idea inside the EU at the time.
The renewed push to build a coalition supporting a review of the deal was led by the Dutch government this month. It gained momentum last week when France indicated it would support the proposal, along with a number of other states.
In a statement Fine Gael’s four MEPs, Seán Kelly, Maria Walsh, Regina Doherty and Nina Carberry, called for the EU’s trade agreement with Israel to be suspended.
In a break with their centre right grouping, the European People’s Party, the Irish MEPs said the EU should go further than just carrying out a review.
“In view of war crimes such as forced starvation of ordinary people in Gaza, we are calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement immediately,” the Fine Gael MEPs said in a joint statement.
“Ireland stood almost alone when we first demanded action on Gaza, now the EU is finally catching up,” the statement said.
More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during the 19-month bombardment and invasion of Gaza by Israel’s military, launched in response to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led attack in southern Israel.
In response to international pressure, Israel said it had allowed 93 UN aid trucks into the Palestinian territory on Tuesday. Humanitarian agencies have said vastly more supplies of food and medicines are needed.
