Sweden and the Netherlands have jointly called for the EU to suspend trade with Israel in response to what they call the "extremely disturbing and intolerable" humanitarian situation in Gaza, and also in response to Israel's plans for a new settlement in the West Bank which critics say would render a Palestinian state unviable.
In a joint letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, seen by RTÉ News, the two member states also accuse Israel of failing to implement a July agreement with the EU on increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
That agreement, reached between Ms Kallas and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, forestalled a list of possible sanctions against Israel, including suspending the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In the letter, the Dutch and Swedish foreign ministers said they now "support the suspension of the trade chapter of the EU-Israel Association agreement and call upon the [European] Commission to put forward a proposal to this end".
The letter also calls for targeted sanctions against "extremist Israeli ministers who promote illegal settlement activities, and actively work against a negotiated two-state solution."
The two foreign ministers - Ruben Brekelmans of the Netherlands and Maria Malmer Stenergard of Sweden - also call on Ms Kallas to share a written analysis of the EU’s compliance with the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The letter also calls on the EU to put more pressure on Hamas which "bears a heavy responsibility for the catastrophic situation" and calls on the organisation to relinquish power in Gaza, disarm and release the remaining Israeli hostages.
Both ministers describe the decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Council to approve the E1 Construction Plan - which would extend a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and severely disrupt the contiguity of any future Palestinian state - as "unacceptable and a clear violation of international law."
EU foreign ministers - including Tánaiste Simon Harris - will hold an informal meeting in Copenhagen tomorrow under the Danish presidency of the EU.
Mr Harris has said the European Union's credibility is on the line if it does not take action against Israel over its "genocidal activity" in Gaza.
"I’ll be taking a very clear message on behalf of the people of Ireland to Copenhagen: 'We want to see clear, concrete action against Israel.’
"Words of condemnation are not enough. We cannot ignore the fact that there are now children in so much pain and famine and hunger in Gaza that they can’t even cry any longer," he said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News At One, Mr Harris added that "we cannot ignore a genocide".
"The people of this country feel so strongly on this so I will work with the Swedes, with the Dutch, with everybody and anybody for standing up for our values.
"The world is looking at the European Union and our credibility as a union, in many ways, is on the line."
"Now is the time to say, ‘Are we going to be true to our values?'," he said.
