Sweden and the Netherlands have together urged the EU to halt trade with Israel, citing what they describe as the “extremely disturbing and intolerable” humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as Israel’s proposed new settlement in the West Bank, which critics argue would undermine the viability of a Palestinian state, reports RTE.
In a joint letter addressed to the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas and seen by RTÉ News, the two EU countries also allege that Israel has not followed through on a July agreement with the EU aimed at boosting humanitarian access to Gaza.
That deal, made between Ms Kallas and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, had temporarily held off a list of potential EU sanctions against Israel, including freezing the trade section of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, reports RTE.
In the letter, the Dutch and Swedish foreign ministers stated that they now “support the suspension of the trade chapter of the EU-Israel Association agreement and call upon the \[European] Commission to put forward a proposal to this end”.
They also advocate for specific sanctions aimed at “extremist Israeli ministers who promote illegal settlement activities, and actively work against a negotiated two-state solution,” reports RTE.
Foreign ministers Ruben Brekelmans of the Netherlands and Maria Malmer Stenergard of Sweden further request that Ms Kallas provide a written assessment of how the EU is complying with the 2024 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice concerning Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.
The letter also calls on the EU to increase pressure on Hamas, which “bears a heavy responsibility for the catastrophic situation”, urging the group to relinquish control of Gaza, disarm, and release the remaining Israeli hostages, reports RTE.
The ministers also strongly criticise the Israeli Higher Planning Council’s approval of the E1 Construction Plan, which would expand a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and disrupt the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state, calling the move “unacceptable and a clear violation of international law.”
Tomorrow, EU foreign ministers — including Tánaiste Simon Harris — are set to meet informally in Copenhagen under the Danish presidency of the union, reports RTE.
Mr Harris has declared that the EU’s credibility is at stake if it does not respond to what he called Israel’s “genocidal activity” in Gaza.
“I’ll be taking a very clear message on behalf of the people of Ireland to Copenhagen: ‘We want to see clear, concrete action against Israel.’ Words of condemnation are not enough. We cannot ignore the fact that there are now children in so much pain and famine and hunger in Gaza that they can’t even cry any longer,” he said, reports RTE.
During an appearance on RTÉ’s News At One, Mr Harris continued: “we cannot ignore a genocide”, reports RTE.
“The people of this country feel so strongly on this so I will work with the Swedes, with the Dutch, with everybody and anybody for standing up for our values,” reports RTE.
“The world is looking at the European Union and our credibility as a union, in many ways, is on the line,” reports RTE.
“Now is the time to say, ‘Are we going to be true to our values?’,” he said, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
