On Tuesday 16 September, the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, denounced Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, saying it “will make an already desperate situation even worse”. “It will mean more death, more destruction and more displacement", she stressed on X. This in response to the Israeli army’s announcement, before dawn on Tuesday, of its launch of a major ground offensive in Gaza City.
“We have been clear that (this military intervention) will aggravate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and also endangers the lives of hostages. It is high time to break the cycle of violence, destruction and suffering, and it must stop now”, European External Action Service spokesman Anouar El Anouni told the media.
Asked about the fact that a UN independent international commission of enquiry had reached “the conclusion that genocide was occurring and continuing to occur in Gaza”, he recalled that determining whether or not international crimes, including genocide, had been committed “falls within the competence of national jurisdictions and any international courts and tribunals that may have jurisdiction”. “The legal classification of an act of genocide requires the establishment of facts and a finding of law”, he added.
On his arrival at the General Affairs Council on the same day, the German Secretary of State, Gunther Krichbaum, said that it was “not a question of genocide, even if [the situation of] humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza remains deeply worrying”.
Sanctions to be proposed on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the European Commission will present the measures announced by its President, Ursula von der Leyen, in her State of the Union address (see EUROPE 13706/1). These include the suspension of the trade part of the EU/Israel Association Agreement, sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and violent settlers, and the suspension of the Commission’s bilateral support for Israel.
According to Ms Kallas, the aim of these measures is to put pressure on the Israeli government to change course regarding the war in Gaza. “Suspending trade concessions and imposing sanctions on extremist ministers and violent settlers would clearly signal that the EU demands an end to this war”, she added on X.
Gunther Krichbaum has already announced that Germany would not support the suspension of the trade part of the Association Agreement, “because we are convinced that we would be hitting the wrong people”. He added that his government was in contact with the Israeli government. “We often have the feeling that we are being heard, but not understood. And we have to keep up the pressure on them”, he explained.
The Spanish Secretary of State, Fernando Sampedro, said he hoped that the measures to be presented by the Commission on Wednesday could be adopted “as quickly as possible”. Suspension of part of the Association Agreement requires a qualified majority, while sanctions against individuals require unanimity.
The Luxembourg government is also due to recognise the State of Palestine next week. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Solenn Paulic)