A total of 209 former senior diplomats from the EU and member states (former ambassadors and senior officials) have signed a letter demanding action against Israel for “the unjustified reprisals and appalling violations of humanitarian law and human rights committed daily […] against the Palestinian people,” or alternatively, that the states address this issue individually.
The letter, addressed to EU leaders and member states, raises alarm over the creation of “concentration zones” in the southern Gaza Strip “in preparation for possible large-scale deportations.” It references a recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report stating that Israel has manufactured a famine in the main city of the Strip, which is progressively extending throughout the enclave.
“We express our profound disappointment that, in response to the ever-worsening situation in Gaza, the EU has not taken substantive measures to pressure Israel to end its brutal war, resume vital humanitarian assistance through key providers, and dismantle its illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.”
This letter follows an earlier one dated 28 July, in which 34 diplomats demanded a series of measures to compel Israel to relent in its military operations. These included the cessation of arms trading, the suspension of all preferential trade agreements with Israel under the Association Agreement, the halting of academic and technological collaboration programmes, as well as the imposition of direct sanctions on ministers, government officials, and settlers responsible for “war crimes, crimes against humanity, facilitating genocide, and practising state terrorism.”
Absence of EU Leadership and Universal Jurisdiction
“Our repeated and urgent call to action reflects our fervent desire for the EU to demonstrate true leadership, worthy of the overwhelming majority of European citizens whose deep concern for the deplorable situation in Palestine is palpable,” notes the text, which is endorsed by 110 former ambassadors, 25 ex-directors general, and two prominent diplomats among the 27: the former Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, Alain Le Roy, and the former Secretary-General of the Commission, Carlo Trojan.
The letter indicates that, in the absence of collective action from the EU, member states should individually or collectively exert pressure by prohibiting Israel from using their ports and airspace, pursuing Israeli and Palestinian war criminals sought by the International Criminal Court, or even prosecuting them in absentia in countries that have provision for universal jurisdiction (specifically naming Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, and Sweden).
