Israel-Palestine after the Gaza war and the role of the EU (debate)
Afzal Khan (S&D). - Mr President, the loss of human life and damage to properties in this conflict has been shocking. What is even more shocking is how little influence we in the EU have been able to yield. Despite the fact that we are Israel’s largest trading partner and Palestine’s largest aid donor, we have been virtually absent from the Palestinian conflict.
We can – and need to – do more to find a permanent solution in this long and ongoing conflict. We should not tolerate the collective punishment of Palestinians. We should therefore demand that Israel open Gaza’s borders. Israel must halt and withdraw from all illegal settlements, which are currently undermining the two-stage solution. We must also support the investigation of war crimes. Failing this, we should suspend relations under the human rights clause in the EU-Israel Association Agreement and we should stop pretending that Israel follows international norms. If we need to, we should consider imposing sanctions against Israel. That includes military sanctions as we have done against Russia.