EU urged to rethink ties with Israel over Gaza and impose sanctions against some ministers

BRUSSELS — The European Union must rethink its relations with Israel as the death toll mounts in Gaza and the West Bank and impose sanctions on some Israeli government ministers accused of fomenting racial hatred, Ireland and the bloc’s top diplomat said Thursday.

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Ireland’s foreign minister accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians as well as Hamas militants with the military campaign it launched almost 11 months ago.

“This is a war against Palestinians not just against Hamas. The level of civilian casualties and dead is unconscionable,” Micheal Martin told reporters. “It’s a war on the population. No point in trying to fudge this.”

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 people, according to local health officials, displaced 90% of the population and destroyed its main cities. Hamas has lost thousands of fighters and much of its militant infrastructure.

Violence has also surged in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack inside southern Israel ignited the war there. Israel launched a large-scale operation in the West Bank this week, in which Hamas said 10 of its fighters were killed in different locations.

Martin said a legal opinion issued by the International Court of Justice that Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is unlawful obliges the EU to take action. The Palestinians have hailed it as “a watershed moment for Palestine, for justice and for international law.”

“It cannot be business as usual,” Martin told reporters. “It is very clear to us that international humanitarian law has been broken.”

Ties between the EU and Israel — which are major trading partners — are governed by a so-called Association Agreement. Ireland and Spain have been pressing their EU partners to examine whether Israel has broken the rules.

The EU is the world’s top provider of aid to the Palestinians but holds little leverage over Israel, notably because the 27 member countries are deeply divided in their approach.

Austria, Germany and Hungary are staunch backers of Israel, while Ireland and Spain are more vocal in their support for the Palestinians. Nonetheless, the bloc does have credibility as a European project founded on peace.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, with the backing of Ireland, urged the ministers to consider imposing sanctions on certain members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Cabinet over their remarks about the war in Gaza.

“Some Israeli ministers have been launching hateful messages, unacceptable hateful messages, against the Palestinians and proposing things that go clearly against international law and is an (incitement) to commit more crimes,” Borrell said.

Borrell did not name the ministers, but earlier this month he criticized Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for suggesting that the starvation of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people “might be just and moral” until hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack are returned home.

Borrell said there should be “no taboos” to prevent the EU from ensuring that international humanitarian law is respected.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock did not take a clear stand either way, saying only that things should be examined carefully on a case-by-case basis to assess “what are the allegations? Are these allegations enough to list to sanction?”

She underlined that any decision to impose sanctions would require unanimous support.

After the meeting, Borrell conceded that the move did not receive unanimous backing, but he said that he has launched the technical work required to impose sanctions, should the EU finally agree. “The ministers will decide, it’s up to them as always, but the process has been launched,” he told reporters.

Borrell also said he is preparing a high-level meeting on the war at the U.N. General Assembly next month, and that Arab countries and the United States have said they will take part. He said that Israel is welcome to attend.