BRUSSELS

A group of 27 former EU ambassadors has urged the bloc to suspend its association agreement with Israel, citing serious violations of international law in Gaza.

In a letter published Friday by Brussels-based EUobserver, the former diplomats who previously served in the Middle East and North Africa or maintain a strong interest in the region expressed deep concern over the EU's lack of concrete action in response to Israel's military attacks following Oct. 7, 2023.

The ambassadors stressed that Israel's military response has been "indiscriminate and completely disproportionate," resulting in tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths and massive destruction of infrastructure in Gaza.

They noted the EU's "reluctance" to take serious action against Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank, its de facto support for violent settler attacks on Palestinians, and ongoing annexation of land in violation of international law.

Their letter follows an EU review where foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed Israel's breach of Article 2, which commits both sides to human rights. Under the Vienna Convention, such violations allow for suspension of the agreement.

"With the rule of law as a founding principle, the EU lives or dies by the full application of international law to its agreements, and in that regard needs must abide by the conclusions of this review," they said.

The ambassadors urged the European Commission and the External Action Service to suspend parts of the agreement under "community competence," such as trade preferences and the Horizon program, and to ban all trade with illegal Israeli settlements, measures that can be adopted by a qualified majority.

"That said, failure to take any action will further tarnish the EU's already damaged reputation in the region and more generally to its foreign policy in the wider world, where it has come in for serious criticism on the grounds of double standards vis-à-vis its principled and unambiguous stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine," they wrote.

EU foreign ministers will gather in Brussels on July 15 to discuss various issues, including possible further steps under the association agreement. However, due to divisions among member states, a suspension of the agreement remains unlikely, as such a decision requires unanimity.