BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday that there would be a review of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel amid the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.
International pressure on Israel has mounted in recent days as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has launched a renewed military offensive in Gaza.
Kallas said a “strong majority” of EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels favoured such a review of the bloc’s association agreement with Israel in the light of events in Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it’s a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed,” Kallas told reporters.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking in parliament, welcomed the EU decision and said 17 out of the 27 member states had backed the move.
EU sanctions on violent Israeli settlers have been prepared but have so far been blocked by one member state, Kallas said, without naming the country.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Andrew Gray and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Makini Brice and Gareth Jones)
