This initiative is led by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and has the support of more than ten European countries, including France, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden.
The call is based on Article 2 of the agreement, which allows for the suspension of the partnership in the event of serious human rights violations. Activating this step requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states.
In this context, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called on the European Union to review its relations with Israel in light of the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, stressing that the time has come for the bloc to move from words to action.
"The time for words is over. We must act," Albares said in remarks reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. "Launching a new military operation in Gaza would only turn it into a graveyard, and this is something the international community cannot allow."
The Spanish minister stressed the need to review the EU-Israel partnership agreement to exert political pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu's government. He noted that the EU must use its diplomatic tools, and even consider imposing sanctions, if necessary, to halt the aggression on Gaza.
In this context, French Minister of State for European Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said it was necessary to "reassess Israel's respect for human rights," a clear indication of his country's support for the initiative.
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin also accused Israel of seeking to implement an ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza by reoccupying the Strip and forcibly displacing its residents.
"What we are witnessing is a systematic Israeli plan aimed at reoccupying Gaza and then expelling its population. This is the very definition of ethnic cleansing," de Villepin said in statements published by Agence France-Presse.
De Villepin called on Western countries to take three urgent steps to confront these policies: an immediate suspension of the European Association Agreement with Israel, a complete ban on arms exports from Europe to Israel, and collectively referring the Israeli government and its senior military leaders to the International Criminal Court.
Earlier yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron and the prime ministers of Britain and Canada issued a joint warning to Benjamin Netanyahu's government, stressing that they "will not stand idly by" in the face of what they described as Israel's "shameful actions" in Gaza.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the three leaders affirmed their readiness to take "concrete measures" if Israel does not immediately halt its military operations and allow unimpeded humanitarian aid into the Strip.
With full American support, Israel has been committing genocidal crimes in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 174,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
