Dozens of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from different political factions are calling on the politico-economic bloc to take “decisive” action and adopt punitive measures against Israel over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
A coalition of 40 cross-party legislators is urging the European Union to halt its trade deal with Israel and to impose sanctions on the cabinet of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as a United Nations-supported organization raises alarms about indications of famine and extensive starvation in the Gaza Strip.
The lawmakers, in a joint statement, urged the 27-member union to hold the Tel Aviv regime responsible for actions that “blatantly breach the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.”
The statement also urges the Hamas resistance movement to immediately release Israeli captives.
“Future generations will judge today’s leaders on their response, or lack thereof, to the atrocities in Gaza. Failing to act now will be remembered as a moral stain on humanity,” the statement reads. “The time for moral cowardice is over, and action must be swift.”
The coalition of MEPs has made a clear demand for sanctions against Israel, a step that the EU has thus far refrained from taking, even as allies such as the United Kingdom and Norway have opted to impose sanctions on far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The 40 signatories are also urging the Commission to suspend the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel, which outlines the trading and political relations between the two parties, and which has frequently been promoted as the most effective instrument available to the EU for compelling Israel to improve the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the European Commission proposed a partial suspension of Israel’s access to the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program due to its actions in Gaza.
However, the individuals who signed the statement are advocating for a significantly more rigorous response, cautioning that “mere words of condemnation are inadequate.”
They constitute 15 out of the 27 countries in the EU, which includes Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, along with six distinct political groups, ranging from The Left to the center-right European People’s Party (EPP).
“MEPs from across the spectrum of pro-European, pro-democratic parties have united behind this statement,” MEP Evin Incir, who sits on the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, said.
She added that more signatories were expected to support the statement in the coming hours.
“Our concerns are directed at both the European Commission and EU member states, who all need to be more decisive in their response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis,” Incir noted.
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