Over 300 former EU and member state ambassadors, as well as former EU officials, have written a joint letter calling on the EU to immediately suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and to impose targeted sanctions on members of the Israeli government.
The letter, to the EU institutions and leaders of the 27 member states, also calls on the 13 member states which have not yet done so to join 147 UN members in recognising the State of Palestine.
It states: "We strongly urge the European Union to immediately impose targeted sanctions on the Israeli government and suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
"In addition, we urge the President of the UN General Assembly and the Chair of the UN Security Council to convene Emergency Meetings of UNGA and the UNSC to adopt sanctions against the multiple violations of international law being perpetrated daily by the Israeli government on the people of Palestine."
"We cannot stand idly by, watching Gaza reduced to rubble and its inhabitants to destitution and starvation," said former EU Ambassador Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff on behalf of all co-signatories.
"The issue is whether the EU and like-minded nations are going to stand up for basic humanity and for the values that underpin the post-war international order.
"Action needs to be taken urgently to preserve life, end the military onslaught on Gaza, secure the return of all hostages and move to governance arrangements that allow for a swift return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza as a necessary step towards a unified and democratically elected Palestinian government".
It's the fourth letter sent by former national diplomats who served the EU or their own countries as ambassadors overseas, as well as former senior EU officials.
The former diplomats also call on the EU to support the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and demand that the US "rescind decisions taken preventing official representatives of Palestine and the UN from even engaging in dialogue at UNGA."
EU to propose sanctions on extremist settlers in West Bank
The letter follows European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this morning delivering her harshest criticism of Israel to date, saying she would propose sanctions on extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank, and the suspension of the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Ms von der Leyen was launching her eagerly awaited State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
She said: "What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. People killed while begging for food, mothers holding lifeless babies.
"These images are simply catastrophic."
"I want to start with a very clear message: man-made famine can never be a weapon of war for the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop."
Ms von der Leyen also criticised what she called the "financial suffocation" of the Palestinian Authority and Israel's plans for a settlement expansion in the West Bank which would cut it off from East Jerusalem.
"All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution, to undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state," she said. "And we must not let this happen."
She acknowledged the anger among many Europeans at the inability of the EU to forge a more unified position on Gaza.
She said: "They are asking, how much worse things must get before there is unity in response.
"I understand, because what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable, and because Europe must lead the way, just as it has done before."
"Our financial support and humanitarian aid far outweigh that of any other partner," said Ms von der Leyen.
"Our commitment to a viable Palestinian Authority is keeping the two-state solution alive, and we must urge others to urgently step up."
Meanwhile, a commission spokesperson has confirmed that the EU will put its financial support to Israel on hold, without affecting funding for the Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre.
"As announced by President von der Leyen in the [State of the European Union speech], the Commission will propose a package of measures aimed at stopping the unacceptable situation in Gaza," the spokesperson said.
Funding designed to foster bilateral EU-Israel relations amounts to €6 million per year, across various EU funding programmes, and these will continue for the years 2025-2027, after which they will be suspended.
"In addition, the EU will put on hold approximately €14 million for ongoing projects," said the spokesperson.
"More specifically, it means that we will put on hold … ongoing institutional cooperation projects with Israel (i.e., twinning programmes) ... and we will further evaluate the projects funded under the Regional EU-Israel cooperation facility."
Europe must fight for its place, says von der Leyen
During her speech, Ms von der Leyen also warned that Europe must fight for its place in a ruthless world in which major powers are hostile to the European Union.
She said a new Europe must emerge.
"This must be Europe's independence moment," she told MEPs.
She said: "This is our union's mission: to be able to take care of our own defense and security, to take control over the technologies and energies that will fuel our own economies, to decide what kind of society and democracy we want to live in, to be open to the world and choose partnerships with allies, old and new."
"Ultimately, it is about having the freedom and the power to determine our own destiny, and we know we can do it, because together, we have shown what is possible when we have the same ambition, unity and urgency," she said.
Ms von der Leyen said Europe's response to Covid-19, its recovery plan and the support for Ukraine showed that with unity the EU could achieve results.
"The central question for us today is a simple one, does Europe have the stomach to fight?", she asked.
"Do we have the unity and the sense of urgency, the political will and the political skill to compromise, or do we just find one to fight between ourselves be paralysed by our divisions?"
On overnight drone attacks on Poland, the Commission president said: "We have seen a reckless and unprecedented violation of Poland and Europe's airspace by more than 10 Russian Shaheed drones."
"Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland," Ms von der Leyen said.
She told MEPs: "Putin's message is clear, and our response must be clear too. We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiation table. We need more sanctions.
Read more: 'Huge number of Russian drones' violate Polish airspace, says Tusk
"We are now working on the 19th package, in coordination with partners.
"We're particularly looking at phasing out Russian fossil fuels faster, we are looking at the shadow fleet and at third countries, and at the same time, we need more support for Ukraine.
"No one has contributed as much as Europe, close to 170 billion euros of military and financial aid so far and more will be needed and it should not only be European taxpayers who bear the brunt of this.
"This is Russia's war, and it is Russia, that should pay."
