Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Cyprus has not publicly taken a side in a debate among European Union member states on whether to suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel, as the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers discussed the matter at a foreign affairs council summit on Tuesday.
Cyprus comments at Luxembourg summit
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos made no direct reference to Israel in statements on the sidelines of the summit, saying only that “we will be discussing today the situation in the wider Middle East”, and that “there are so many questions and so few answers”.
Call for action from Spain, Slovenia and Ireland
Demands for the association agreement to be terminated were issued at the weekend to the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas by three foreign ministers: Spain’s Jose Manuel Albares, Slovenia’s Tanja Fajon, and Ireland’s Helen McEntee.
In a joint letter, they said they were expressing their “deepest concern regarding several measures by the Israeli government, including executive decisions, military decisions and laws adopted by the Knesset, that contravene human rights and violate international law and international humanitarian law”.
They said, “Our many statements in this regard, and direct calls for the government of Israel to fully comply with its international and moral obligations, and to revert those measures, have been ignored.”
References to Knesset law and Gaza and West Bank conditions
They highlighted the Knesset’s approval of a law last month which they said legalised the death penalty for Palestinians, describing it as a “grave violation of fundamental human rights” and a “step backwards in Israel’s commitment to democratic principles”.
They also noted that Kallas had said the law constituted a violation of the association agreement, and said it “constitutes an additional step in the systematic persecution, oppression, violence and discrimination exerted against the Palestinian population”.
Separately, they described conditions for Gaza’s civilian population as “unbearable”, saying they are “marked by continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement and the clearly insufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the strip”.
They said the situation in the West Bank is “rapidly deteriorating”, describing “escalating violence against Palestinians” in which “radical settlers are acting with absolute impunity”, and said this, together with military operations carried out by the Israel Defence Forces, has brought about “intolerable deaths of innocent civilians”.
The three ministers said, “Bold and immediate action is required, and all actions must remain on the table. The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines.”
What action do you think the European Union should take in response to the concerns raised by the three foreign ministers?
