EU to review agreement with Israel over Gaza concerns, Kallas says

The European Union will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.

International pressure on Israel has mounted in recent days amid complaints about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government launched a new military offensive in the enclave.

Kallas said a "strong majority" of the ministers meeting in Brussels favoured such a review of the agreement with Israel, known as an association agreement, in light of events in Gaza.

Diplomats said 17 of 27 EU members backed the review, which will focus on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in the agreement, and was proposed by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.

"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it's a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed," Kallas told reporters.

Israeli officials have said their operations in Gaza are necessary to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed Kallas' critique.

"We completely reject the direction taken in the statement, which reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing," the ministry wrote in a post on X late Tuesday.

Military vehicles drive their way from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border into Gaza, as seen from Israel, on Tuesday. Reuters

"Ignoring these realities and criticising Israel only hardens Hamas's position and encourages Hamas to stick to its guns," the ministry said, thanking countries which it said supported Israel in the discussion.

Under the pact, which came into force in 2000, the EU and Israel agreed that their relationship "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy".

In a letter proposing a review, Veldkamp raised concerns about Israeli policies "exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation".

Displaced Palestinians fill water at a tent camp in Gaza City on Tuesday. Reuters

He also cited "statements by Israeli cabinet members about a permanent presence that alludes to a reoccupation of (parts of) the Gaza Strip, Syria and Lebanon" and a "further worsening of the situation in the West Bank".

On Tuesday, Dutch minister Veldkamp called the review "a very important and powerful signal," echoing sentiments of officials from France and Ireland.

But others did not back a review. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky suggested the bloc could hold a meeting with Israel under the association agreement to raise concerns.

Kallas said EU sanctions on violent Israeli settlers had been prepared but have so far been blocked by one member state. Diplomats said that country was Hungary.

Reuters