EU's Borrell proposes suspension to dialogue with Israel

The EU's outgoing foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed to EU foreign ministers that they suspend political dialogue with Israel due to the Gaza war, and that the EU should invoke the human rights clause in its trade relations with Israel.

The proposal is contained in a letter to national capitals, seen by RTÉ News, ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

In the letter, Mr Borrell claims there were "serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza," and "thus far, these concerns have not been sufficiently addressed by Israel."

"In light of the above considerations, I will be tabling a proposal that the EU should invoke the human rights clause to suspend the political dialogue with Israel," he wrote.

Ireland and Spain have been pushing for the European Commission to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement since February, on the basis that Israel is allegedly in breach of Article 2 of the agreement, which binds both sides to human rights obligations.

The Commission has not yet carried out such a review since it would require consensus among member states at foreign minister level.

Such a consensus has not materialised, with Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic generally blocking the move.

Read more about the conflict in the Middle East

Mr Borrell wrote that he was proposing to foreign ministers that the EU suspend political dialogue with Israel under Article 1 of the association agreement, a move which would be notified to Israel through the EU-Israel Association Council.

Diplomats have said it is unlikely there would be overwhelming support for Mr Borrell’s initiative at the meeting on Monday.

In his letter, Mr Borrell, who will be chairing his final foreign affairs council meeting, said his proposal reflected communiques by EU leaders over the past year, and "the commitment of the European Union to promote the protection of human rights and international law, as well as the commitment taken by Israel in Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement."

Mr Borrell said his proposal "contains relevant findings on the duty to comply with international humanitarian law, the duty of the occupying power to ensure humanitarian assistance for a population in need, and elaborates on Israel's duty to put an end to the violence of extremist settlers."