ISTANBUL

More than 300 former EU and member state ambassadors, alongside former senior EU officials, on Wednesday called on the bloc to immediately suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and impose sanctions on members of the government.

In a joint letter addressed to EU institutions and leaders of the 27 member states, the former diplomats urged urgent action to halt Israel’s military offensive and alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, news agency RTE reported.

“We strongly urge the European Union to immediately impose targeted sanctions on the Israeli government and suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” the letter said, also pressing 13 EU member states to recognize Palestine, in line with the 147 UN members that already have.

Former EU Ambassador Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, speaking on behalf of the co-signatories, said: “We cannot stand idly by, watching Gaza reduced to rubble and its inhabitants to destitution and starvation."

"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," he added.

The signatories further urged emergency meetings of the UN General Assembly and Security Council to adopt sanctions against Israel, and called on Washington to reverse restrictions on Palestinian and UN representatives at the UN.

The letter coincided with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in Strasbourg.

Von der Leyen said she would propose sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank and suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world,” she said, denouncing Israel’s “man-made famine” and the “financial suffocation” of the Palestinian Authority as well as Israel’s plans to expand settlements in the West Bank.

“All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution, to undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state. And we must not let this happen,” she stressed.

A commission spokesperson confirmed later that EU funding aimed at fostering bilateral relations with Israel will be suspended after 2027, while about €14 million ($16.4 million) in ongoing projects, including institutional cooperation programs, will be put on hold immediately.

Funding for Israeli civil society organizations and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, will continue, the spokesperson added.