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EU-Israel relations, in relation to Gaza...

Despite calls from the EU and many others for a ceasefire, the brutally
disproportionate Israeli attack on Gaza - by air, sea and land - continues.
In spite of this, the EU is this very month preparing to upgrade its
existing trade agreement to give Israel even more privileged access to
European markets.

In December, the EU's Council of Ministers voted to support this upgrade,
ignoring the fact that Israel was in breach of an "essential element" of the
earlier agreement. This required states to respect "human rights and
democratic principles". The new terms are even weaker and include no
obligations on Israel in respect of its illegal settlements, the illegal
wall, and its repeated breaches of international human rights and
humanitarian law in Gaza and elsewhere.

In view of the horrific events of the past days, the Green Party is calling
on: (1) The UK Government to revoke its support for any new agreements with
Israel and (2) The European Parliament to refuse to endorse any extension
of existing agreements and to use its influence to prevent any upgrades of
EU benefits to Israel until it abides by its international legal and
humanitarian obligations.

If I am elected to the European Parliament this June, I pledge to support
efforts to ensure that Israel and others in the Middle East (including the
Palestinians) get a favourable trading status ONLY if they respect
international law and refrain from using violence as a means of settling
their disputes.

Comments

peruviansun said…
It's hard to unpick the moral factors at play in the tragedy of Gaza. But I seem to remember one condition of a just war identified by Aquinas is that you can actually win it. Israel cannot win this war if its aim is to eliminate Hamas as a fighting force. Europe hasn't the clout to intervene decisively; and the Israelis play hard ball with everyone even the US. It's part of what enables them to survive. I entirely agree, however, that Israel has dirty hands though so have many others in the area; and your idea that the EU should not extend privileges to Israel in current circs has the plain ring of moral sense.
10 January 2009 at 11:12
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