BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 European Union foreign ministers will hold formal discussions later this month on a demand to review an EU pact governing trade ties with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza, the bloc鈥檚 top diplomat said Thursday.
Israel鈥檚 ongoing forced a leading aid group to shut its community soup kitchens Thursday as it faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies in .
At the same time, the war in Gaza is about to enter a new phase, where Israel plans to 鈥渆xpand and intensify our operations,鈥 according to the armed forces chief of staff.
鈥淭he frustration among the (EU) member states, that we can鈥檛 stop this, is tremendous,鈥 EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters after chairing informal talks between the bloc鈥檚 foreign ministers in Poland.
Ties between the EU and Israel 鈥 which are major trading partners 鈥 are governed by a so-called Association Agreement. It stipulates that their ties 鈥渟hall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.鈥
The Dutch government has said that the agreement pending an EU review into whether the Israel government is complying with the pact, which entered force in 2000. Kallas said the ministers would discuss this on May 20.
鈥淚t is very important to signal at this moment that we are greatly concerned by the continuous blockade for access of humanitarian aid and the Israeli decision to intensify the war effort,鈥 Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said.
He said that Dutch concerns are 鈥渧ery broadly shared among European countries.鈥
Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon was among those backers.
鈥淭he world has clearly failed on the test of humanity,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e have to act more seriously because we are really facing a clear violation of the international law and humanitarian law.鈥
Spanish Foreign Minister Jos茅 Manuel Albares said that 鈥渋t鈥檚 more important than ever that the voice of Europe raises against what is happening right now in Gaza.鈥 He said the EU 鈥渨ill never accept the displacement of people鈥 from Gaza.
But the EU is deeply divided over how to respond to the conflict, and it holds little leverage over Israel. Austria, Germany and Hungary have backed the Israeli government, while Ireland, Spain and Slovenia have been vocal in their support for the Palestinians.
Last year, also tried to press their EU partners to examine whether Israel has broken the rules, without success, and Kallas did not appear optimistic about success on May 20.
鈥淵ou know very well that on certain issues we have very divergent views,鈥 she said.
