More than 400 former leading European diplomats and officials have called on the European Union (EU) to increase pressure on Israel to end what they say are excesses and ongoing violations of international law in Gaza and the West Bank.
In the announcement, which was supposed to be addressed to EU leaders on Monday, the Union and its member states are invited to take measures in accordance with their support for the United Nations resolution on a two-state solution and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
The document details the grim reality of Palestinian life, stating that 500 people, including 100 children, were killed in “targeted Israeli military actions” during the first phase of a ceasefire declared last year.
It is also stated that there are serious restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as that the construction projects of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem are, according to a widespread opinion, undermining the two-state solution.
“The EU should act decisively against all those who follow annexationist agendas aimed at jeopardizing the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination and undermining the two-state solution,” reads the text signed by 403 people by Sunday evening, including former EU ambassadors, high-ranking EU officials or member state officials.
The signatories call on the EU to launch a “time-limited dialogue with Israel” on the implementation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which includes an obligation to respect human rights.
The authors state that the EU should suspend the agreement if there are no “constructive responses and procedures” to stop what they call “excesses and continuous violations of international law” on the Israeli side.
The authors also call on the EU to abstain from membership in US President Donald Trump’s Peace Committee, expressing concern over its potential to overshadow the United Nations, as well as “fundamental concerns” about the Committee’s governance.
Hungary and Bulgaria have already joined this committee, while France and Sweden are among the governments that have refused to join it.
