LONDON: More than 200 former European ambassadors and senior diplomats have angrily rebuked the EU for failing to take any “substantive measures” to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.
Western nations have faced growing pressure to take stronger action against Israel as the daily slaughter of Palestinian civilians continues.
The EU in particular has faced strong criticism for struggling to take a tougher stance to end the war.
Last month, the bloc failed to agree on a range of sanctions against Israel despite a review finding the country had breached its human rights obligations under an association agreement with the EU.
European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the sanction measures proposed on July 15 had been paused after Israel agreed to allow more aid to flow into Gaza.
In an published Tuesday, 209 former EU ambassadors and senior staff, along with ex ambassadors from European states, condemned out the bloc’s failure to act.
“We express our profound disappointment that, in response to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, no substantive measures have been taken by the EU to pressure Israel to end its brutal war, to resume vital humanitarian assistance by mainstream providers, and to dismantle its illegal occupation of both Gaza and the West Bank,” the letter said.
It called on the EU “to demonstrate real leadership, worthy of the overwhelming majority of European citizens whose profound disquiet over the current deplorable situation in Palestine is palpable, and consistent with core European values.”
The former diplomats called on the EU to halt arms exports to Israel, stop funding- joint projects, withdraw from joint research projects, and stop trade in goods and services with illegal settlements.
The letter also called for a ban on Israeli military ships and aircraft from European ports and airspace and a ban on Israeli data linked to Gaza and the Occupied West Bank from being used in European data centers.
The letter called on European states to take action individually or along with like-minded countries given the EU’s “failure to take an active stand."
Some of the signatories had sent a letter last month expressing deep concern about the EU’s response to the war in Gaza, which many international bodies and observers say has descended into genocide.
The letter published Tuesday said that since then, “more than 2,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children.
“The Israeli government has begun implementing plans to empty Gaza City and its environs of one million Palestinians, by forcing them into concentration areas in the south, in preparation for possible large-scale deportations to third countries,” the letter said.
“Our reiterated and urgent call for action reflects our deep concern at the unjustified retribution and appalling violations of humanitarian and human rights law being committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people on a daily basis.”
Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, former EU ambassador to the Palestinian Territories and one of the diplomats coordinating the response, said there was such dismay within European institutions that people are saying “enough is enough.”
He told The Guardian: “We can’t stay paralyzed if the 27 (member states) can’t take action, that betrays our values. So we have proposed nine actions that can be taken at the state level or by groups of states.”
He added: “European governments are losing credibility not just in the global south but with our own citizens, in every member state.”