EU to Review Ties with Israel Amid Gaza Genocide and Blockade, Says Foreign Policy Chief
Brussels (Quds News Network)- European Commission's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they will "discuss" a proposal from Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp's to "review" Article Two of the European Union's association agreement with Israel over its gaza genocide and blockade.
Article Two of the agreement states that relations "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles".
Veldkamp called Israel's blockade of aid a violation of this agreement, the Guardian reported.
Speaking to reporters, Kallas said: "Of course Israel's decision to let some of the aid in is a drop in the ocean, it’s welcomed but it's not enough.”
"There are thousands of trucks behind the borders waiting - it is European money that has funded this humanitarian aid and it has to reach the people because the situation is extremely grave."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also stated that Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the limited easing of the aid blockade could prompt a review of the European Union–Israel Association Agreement.
Barrot said “immediate and massive aid is needed” in Gaza, a day after his country signed on to a joint statement with other European countries threatening further action if Israel does not lift its blockade fully.
In the statement, 23 countries, including the UK, France and Canada warned Israel to let aid into Gaza, warning that the population faced “starvation”. It said humanitarian aid should never be politicised.
In an interview with France’s Inter Radio, Barrot said Israel’s partial lifting of the blockade on Monday was “totally insufficient”.
“Indiscriminate violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid by the Israeli government” have turned the besieged territory into “a death trap”, he added.
“Indeed, it’s been nearly three months that the Israeli army had been blocking access to all humanitarian aid, and it has now decided to slightly open the door, notably for reasons of domestic politics,” continues Barrot.
Barrot also said his government supports a review of the European Union-Israel trade deal, over concerns about Israel meeting its human rights commitments.
In response to Israel’s assault in Gaza, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has led an initiative demanding a review of the pact, which dictates that cooperation between the EU and Israel “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.”
“It is very important to signal at this moment that we are greatly concerned by the continuous blockade of access to humanitarian aid and the Israeli decision to intensify the war effort,” Veldkamp said.
He said that Dutch concerns are “very broadly shared among European countries.”
Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon was among those backers.
“The world has clearly failed on the test of humanity,” she said. “We have to act more seriously because we are really facing a clear violation of international law and humanitarian law.”
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that “it’s more important than ever that the voice of Europe raises against what is happening right now in Gaza.” He said the EU “will never accept the displacement of people” from Gaza.
On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, leading to an unprecedented deterioration of humanitarian conditions, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, issued last week, warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.
However, after about 80 days of total blockade and starvation and widespread international outrage, Israel allowed a very limited passage of aid trucks into the enclave. On Monday, Israel allowed five lorries across the border, which the UN called the move a "drop in the ocean.”
The move is part of a US-Israeli plan to forcibly expel over 2 million Palestinians to southern Gaza to advance Israel’s expansion goals. Axios reported that aid will enter through several international organizations until a new US-Israeli aid mechanism begins on May 24.
The joint statement issued on Monday by 23 countries also slammed the US-Israeli plan, which would see the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation delivering supplies under Israeli military protection.
“It places beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the United Nations and our trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military objectives,” said the statement, which called on Israel to let the UN and aid organisations get on with their life-saving work.
A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed on Tuesday morning after being run over by an Israeli settler while on his way to school north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge in settler violence against Palestinians.
Dozens of US veterans were arrested after occupying a Capitol Hill building to protest Donald Trump’s Israeli war on Iran, as they said Trump escalated a conflict that serves a “war machine” and warned active troops to refuse deployment orders.
In a statement signed by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land condemned the desecration of an image of Jesus Christ by an Israeli soldier, warning that Israeli attacks on Christian symbols are not isolated incidents.
