EU top diplomat urges pausing Israel dialogue over Gaza war, but likely to be vetoed
Outgoing foreign policy chief Borrell wants to suspend bloc’s political talks with Israel ‘over alleged abuses’; Germany, Italy and others said to object
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief has urged the bloc to suspend a political dialogue with Israel over human rights concerns in Gaza but it is likely to be vetoed, diplomats said Thursday.
Josep Borrell raised his proposal during a meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday, according to four diplomats involved, and is expected to formalize it when European Union foreign ministers gather in Brussels early next week.
The foreign policy chief has written to member states to ask them to suspend the EU’s political dialogue with Israel — part of a wider agreement governing trade ties — “over alleged abuses” in the Gaza conflict, one diplomat said.
“It is forcing people to talk about the issues,” said the diplomat, adding that “the widespread expectation is that it will not be agreed” — considering that EU foreign policy decisions require unanimity among the 27 member states.
Made “without any forewarning,” Borrell’s proposal “came as a complete surprise,” according to a second diplomat who confirmed that it was “immediately objected to by a large group of member states.”
Key powers Germany and Italy were among the countries said to have raised objections, along with the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Greece.
Two other diplomats confirmed Borrell’s proposal — formulated as he prepares to hand over next month to his designated successor Kaja Kallas — without providing details.
EU countries — which include staunch allies of Israel as well as firm supporters of the Palestinian cause — have struggled for a unified position on the ongoing war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, massacre.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement, dating from 2000 and governing bilateral relations, contains legally binding provisions on human rights, which Borrell hopes to invoke to suspend the political dialogue.
The EU formally invited Israel in June to discuss ties under the accord in the context of the Gaza conflict, but no meeting has taken place for want of an agreement on an agenda.
Spain and Ireland — which earlier this year recognized a Palestinian state — have called on the EU to review the entire association agreement over Israel’s Gaza offensive.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
It is believed that 97 of the hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
