EU to review cooperation deal with Israel over alleged Gaza abuses
The European Union on Tuesday agreed to review its cooperation deal with Israel over alleged human rights abuses in Gaza, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.
Kallas said Brussels was acting after 'a strong majority' of its 27 member states backed the move, in a meeting of EU foreign ministers, in a bid to pressure Israel.
'What it tells is that the countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable, and what we want is to really help the people, and what we want is to unblock the humanitarian aid so that it will reach the people,' Kallas told journalists.
Momentum to re-examine the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which forms the basis for trade ties between the two sides, has grown since Israel restarted its offensive in Gaza after a ceasefire expired.
Kallas said the aid trucks Israel allowed into Gaza on Tuesday was a 'drop in the ocean' compared to suffering faced by the people inside the strip. Israel said that 93 aid trucks entered the territory on Tuesday.
The Netherlands spearheaded the latest push over a year after two staunch backers of the Palestinian cause, Spain and Ireland, failed to convince the bloc to suspend the accord.
Diplomats said 17 EU states pressed for review at the Brussels meeting under Article two of the agreement that calls for a respect for human rights.
Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot said he had 'no doubt' about the violation of rights in Gaza, and the review could lead to the suspension of the entire deal.
The EU has struggled to have an impact on the conflict as there are long-standing divisions within the bloc between countries who back Israel and those considered more pro-Palestinian.
In a sign of the splits, in a separate move, Hungary blocked imposing more sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
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