Key points
- Suspending entire accord or curbing trade ties on the cards
- Sanctioning Israeli ministers and imposing arms embargo also possible
- Anger grows over the devastation in Gaza
- At least 78 Palestinians killed across Gaza Strip on Tuesday
ISLAMABAD: European Union (EU) foreign ministers on Tuesday will discuss a raft of options for action against Israel over the war in Gaza — but likely will not agree on any.
The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has put forward 10 potential steps after Israel was found to have breached a cooperation deal between the two sides on human rights grounds.
The measures range from suspending the entire accord or curbing trade ties to sanctioning Israeli ministers, imposing an arms embargo and halting visa-free travel.
But despite growing anger over the devastation in Gaza, EU states remain divided over how to tackle Israel and diplomats say there appears to be no critical mass for any move.
“I was asked to give the inventory of the options that could be taken and it’s up to the member states to discuss what do we do with these options,” Kallas said Monday.
Tone of discussions
The tone of discussions will be shaped strongly by how Israel is implementing a promise to the EU to improve humanitarian access to Gaza, according to AFP.
Kallas said Thursday she had struck a deal with her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, to open more entry points and allow in more food.
Gaza’s two million residents are facing dire humanitarian conditions as Israel has severely limited aid during its devastating war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“We see some good signs of more trucks getting in,” Kallas said Monday.
“But of course we know that this is not enough and we need to push more (so) that the implementation of what we have agreed also happens on the ground.”
“Catastrophic”
At a meeting of EU and neighbouring countries in Brussels on Monday, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said the situation in Gaza remained “catastrophic”.
While the EU appears unable for now to take any further moves against Israel, just getting to this stage has been a considerable step.
The bloc only agreed to review the cooperation deal after Israel relaunched its devastating operation in Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire in March.
78 Palestinians killed
Until then deep divisions between countries backing Israel and those more favourable to the Palestinians had hamstrung any move.
At least 78 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, including civilians gathered near an aid distribution centre, Al Jazeera reported, quoting hospital sources.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said a ceasefire alone is not enough, and urged world leaders to pursue a broader political solution that includes a viable Palestinian state.
