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EU foreign ministers rejected calls to end preferential trade with Israel in connection with allegations of war crimes, highlighting persistent divisions within the bloc over the Middle East.
However, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said further discussions would take place, including consideration of a proposal by France and Sweden to impose tariffs on goods originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“We cannot lose sight of Gaza and the West Bank,” Kallas told journalists at a press conference.
Ahead of the meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday, the governments of Spain, Ireland and Slovenia called on the EU to “uphold its moral and political responsibility, and to defend the very core values that have underpinned the European project since its foundation”.
“Conditions in Gaza are unbearable, marked by continued violations of the ceasefire agreement and the clearly insufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip,” the letter addressed to Kallas stated.
“The situation in the West Bank is rapidly deteriorating, with escalating violence against Palestinians: radical settlers are acting with impunity,” it added, referring to what it described as “intolerable deaths” of Palestinians.
Kallas said there was insufficient support among member states for the proposals, with no change in positions to back either a full or partial suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement.
A full suspension would require unanimous support from all 27 member states, while a partial suspension would require a qualified majority, representing at least 55% of member states and 65% of the EU population.
The outcome had been widely anticipated, as several larger member states, including Germany and Italy, were not expected to support such measures.
At the same time, a number of EU countries, including Germany, have criticised Israel’s continued military campaign in the region, as well as recent legislative developments in the Knesset.
A spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had “expressed his deep concern about developments in the Palestinian territories” in recent days.
“There must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank,” the spokesperson said Merz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call.
Kallas said she would refer the proposal from Sweden and France regarding settlement goods to the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in the coming days, on the basis that settlements fall outside the scope of the Association Agreement.
She rejected claims that the EU was applying double standards, stating that the bloc is “among the largest supporters of Palestinians, including in reconstruction efforts”.
“Compare how much others are doing for Gaza and Palestinians, and you will see that many are turning to the EU for support,” she said.
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