EU Demands Measures to Improve Situation in Gaza

The EU could take action to increase pressure on Israel if there are no "concrete improvements" for people in Gaza in the coming weeks, its foreign policy chief has said.

- Jennifer Rankin

After meeting EU foreign ministers in Brussels, the foreign policy high representative, Kaja Kallas, said it was "very clear" that Israel had breached human rights commitments, referring to conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. She said if the situation for Palestinians did not improve, the bloc could discuss "further measures and come back to this in July". But speaking to reporters, Kallas declined to spell out details.

"The concrete question is what then we [the EU] are able to agree.

But right now, the most important thing is to improve the situation on the ground; improve the lives of people in Palestine and stop the suffering and also human toll that we see there every day," she said.

Foreign ministers discussed the EU's ties with Israel after a report by Kallas's team found "indications" that its ally was in breach of human rights obligations over the catastrophic situation in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank.

While decisions were not expected from yesterday's meeting, Lisa Musiol of the International Crisis Group said the EU had "missed an important opportunity to make clear to the Israeli government that its policies in Gaza and the West Bank have long crossed a red line and will come at a cost for EU-Israel relations".