The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have welcomed remarks by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen which suggest the European Union should take limited action against Israel for what they described as its genocide and slaughter in Gaza.
Ms von der Leyen proposed a partial suspension of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel during her state of the union address on Wednesday.
Ms von der Leyen said “what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable” as “she proposed a package of measures to carve out a way forward”.
She also proposed “sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers” as well as a “partial suspension” of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.
READ MORE
Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed Ms von der Leyen’s statement and said the remarks meant that Europe was no longer “paralysed by inaction in respect of what’s happening in Gaza”.
He said there was an “absolute necessity” for the EU to follow up on her proposals around extremist settlers and the Association Agreement.
“The deliberate starvation of men, women and children is beyond any moral compass. The world is genuinely shocked,” he said.
“What we need is a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza to alleviate starvation”. He reiterated a call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
Tánaiste Simon Harris also welcomed the change of stance by Ms von der Leyen. “I think today was a significant step forward,” he said.
“We have long argued that addressing the issue of trade at a European level would apply much more pressure in terms of trying to end the slaughter of the innocents in Gaza.”
He said the Government would like to see the proposal and would press for an early convening of the EU Council to allow member states to vote on the matter.
Both leaders also condemned the drone attacks in a port in Tunisia on a humanitarian flotilla bound for Israel, which includes a number of Irish citizens.
“Any attack on civilians is a clear breach of international law,” said Mr Harris, who is Minister for Foreign Affairs.
“We’re providing consular assistance to the Irish citizens who are aboard. We will also be in contact with authorities in Tunisia as well. What people are trying to do is highlight and take action on what is a man-made famine and humanitarian disaster and genocide in Gaza. And I think people should be commended for that,” he said.
Ms von der Leyen’s statement comes as the EU remains “stuck without a majority” on a proposal to suspend parts of funding to Israel under the Horizon programme, which is a key research and innovation initiative for the bloc.
[ EU’s credibility on line unless concrete action taken against Israel - HarrisOpens in new window ]
Ms von der Leyen said Europe “cannot afford to be paralysed”, adding that the commission will put bilateral support to Israel “on hold”.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said Ms von der Leyen’s proposed sanctions are too long overdue and do not go far enough.
“For over 22 months, we have had Israel’s genocide live-streamed to us, but the EU chose to sit on its hands until now,” she said. “The EU had the opportunity to suspend the trade agreement with Israel before the summer recess, but they decided to postpone their decision until the parliament returned.
“What has changed since the summer?” Ms Boylan asked.
The Social Democrats called Ms von der Leyen’s proposed sanctions “a belated step in the right direction” that fell “well short of what’s required to stop the genocide in Gaza”.
The party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Patricia Stephenson, said: “The president’s proposed sanctions on extremist ministers and Jewish settlers are long overdue but do not go far enough. For this to be effective, we also need to see sanctions against settler organisations to starve them of funds.”
Ms von der Leyen’s call for a partial suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement is also a “half-baked measure”, Ms Stephenson said, adding: “Nothing short of the full suspension of this trade agreement is required to put real pressure on Netanyahu’s murderous regime.”
– Agencies
