'World is now looking to Europe to see, from a credibility point of view, are we now willing to act?,' says Simon Harris
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris on Friday called on the EU to adopt concrete measures against Israel, saying words of condemnation regarding the Gaza war were “clearly not enough.”
Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU defense and foreign ministers, Harris said: “The time for words of condemnation must end. Words of condemnation are important, but they’re clearly not enough.
"We, in Ireland, have been arguing for a very long time that there needed to be a review of the association agreement between the EU and Israel. That finally happened, that found very clearly that Israel is absolutely in breach of its human rights obligations.”
He stressed that despite some member states asking for more time, Israel had failed to rectify the situation.
“The world is now looking to Europe to see, from a credibility point of view, are we now willing to act? There are 10 different areas that Europe has identified where sanctions or measures could be taken against Israel."
"It is absolutely imperative now that Europe matches its words of condemnation with concrete actions against Israel to help bring about a ceasefire, see a surge in humanitarian aid, and, of course, see the release of all the hostages,” he said.
Harris underlined that “Europe must stand up for its values” and use provisions in the EU-Israel Association Agreement to press for compliance with human rights obligations.
Israel has killed at least 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
- Ukraine and Lebanon
Harris also condemned Russia’s latest strikes on Kyiv, including the damage to the EU Delegation building, calling Moscow’s actions “a clear breach of the Vienna Convention.”
“This cannot be a consequence free zone. … It’s imperative that those of us in the European Union now consider further sanctions,” Harris said.
On Lebanon, Harris welcomed the renewal of the UN peacekeeping mission and proposed that the EU consider a new training mission to strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces.
