Ireland threatened that the EU could seek sanctions against Israel if it does not comply with the ICJ ruling regarding the IDF’s ongoing operation in Rafah.

 

EU Foreign Ministers  reached unanimity on Monday to call for a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council to discuss the situation in Gaza and the respect of human rights under the obligations that Israel has assumed under this agreement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference following a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

The Association Council with Israel, a body which governs bilateral EU-Israel relations.

They also want to discuss with the ‘’Netanyahu government’’ as Borell insisted, how it plans to implement the ruling of the International Court. Of Justice (ICJ)  which ordered Israel to halt its intended military offensive in the city of Rafah.

‘’What we have seen since the Court has issued its ruling: not a stop of the military activities, but on the contrary, an increase in the military activities, an increase in the bombing and an increase in the casualties of the civilian people, as we have seen last night,’’ Borrell said.

The EU Foreign Ministers met Monday with their counterparts from several Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. They discussed the idea of an international conference t orestart the concept of a two-state solution.

Earlier this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made a plea for the urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing ‘’serious concern’’s over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and potential violations of human rights and international law.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said the move to call for an Association Council with Israel was a “strong signal.” “We must ensure that our rules and values are respected by all, and above all by our partners like Israel. Our credibility depends on it,” she said.

Borrell declined to comment on whether he believed Israel would agree to attend the Association Council.

Ireland also threatened Monday that the EU could seek sanctions against Israel if it does not comply with the ICJ ruling regarding the IDF’s ongoing operation in Rafah.

“For the first time at an EU. meeting, in a real way, I’ve seen significant discussion on sanctions and ‘what if,’” said Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheál Martin.

However, he continued, there is “some distance between people articulating the need for a sanctions-based approach if Israel does not comply with the ICJ’s ruling…to agreement in the Council meeting, given all of the different perspectives there.”

The ICJ, which is the principal United Nations judicial arm, located in The Hague, voted by 13 to two on Friday to insist that Israel “immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

On Sunday night, an Israeli strike on two senior Hamas terrorists near Rafah resulted in the deaths of tens of Palestinian civilians. According to ABC News, Israel told U.S. officials the incident was apparently caused by missile shrapnel igniting a fuel tank some 330 feet from the targeted area.

The targets of the strike were named as Yassin Rabia, head of Hamas’s Judea and Samaria headquarters, and Khaled Nagar, a senior official in the terrorist group’s Judea and Samaria wing.

The IDF spokesperson said earlier that the strike, based on intelligence and executed using precision weaponry, was carried out in accordance with international law.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon called for EU sanctions on Israel ‘’for its continued violations of international law ‘’ in its Gaza military operation.

“I strongly condemn Israel’s attack last night on the displaced Palestinians, in which many children were also burned to death,”  she said.

” I will stand up for respect for international humanitarian law and decision (of the) ICJ. In case of continuing violations, the EU must react uniformly and decisively, including sanctions,” Fajon added. Her country is set to recognize Palestine as a state, along with Spain, Ireland and Norway.