\u201cThat has to be done in a critical, constructive dialogue with Israel,\u201d Wadephul said. \u201cThat is what we stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani pushed back as well, saying that \u201cno decision will be taken today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t Attitudes toward Israel among EU member states, already hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, stiffened further after Israeli ground operations were launched into Lebanon last month \u2014 in response to the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group\u2019s missile fire on Israel \u2014 and after the Knesset passed a new law on the death penalty for Palestinian terror convicts in the West Bank.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to act. We need to make sure that our fundamental values are protected,\u201d Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said.<\/p>\n Ahead of Tuesday\u2019s meeting, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot called Israel\u2019s actions in Lebanon \u201ccompletely unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, we must firmly condemn Hezbollah\u2019s initial attacks, which, in seeking to show solidarity with Iran, dragged Lebanon into a war it did not want, as well as Israel\u2019s disproportionate and indiscriminate response,\u201d the Belgian diplomat said.<\/p>\n \t He also said Brussels was calling for at least a partial suspension of the EU\u2019s Association\u2019s Agreement with Israel, and that Belgium was \u201caware that a full suspension is probably out of reach given the positions of the various European countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Madrid would request the EU suspend the agreement, saying\u00a0that Israel \u201cviolates international law\u201d and therefore \u201ccannot be a partner of the European Union\u2026 it\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n Facing alarm at the civilian toll exacted in the Gaza war, the EU last year<\/a> already put on the table a raft of potential measures to punish Israel, including cutting trade ties or sanctioning government ministers.<\/p>\n But so far none of the steps laid out by Brussels has garnered enough support from member states to be put into action.<\/p>\n Suspending the entirety of the EU\u2019s cooperation agreement, as Spain and Ireland are pushing for,\u00a0requires unanimity among the bloc\u2019s 27 countries and would almost certainly be blocked by allies of Israel.<\/p>\n \t More feasible could be suspending the part of the deal facilitating closer trade ties, a move that only requires support from a weighted majority of EU countries.<\/p>\n That would require a shift in position from EU heavyweights such as Germany or Italy.<\/p>\n Rome has already signaled a tougher line by suspending<\/a> a defense agreement with Israel last week.<\/p>\n But EU officials and diplomats said it seemed there would not be sufficient support to take those actions \u2014 especially after a ceasefire was reached in Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the opinions of the member states have changed, then we can move forward with these decisions,\u201d said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.<\/p>\n France and Sweden, meanwhile, re-upped an earlier call from some other EU countries for the bloc to consider halting the import of goods from Jewish settlements in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.<\/p>\n \t Trade between Israel and the EU, the Jewish state\u2019s largest trading partner, reached\u00a0 \u20ac42.6\u202fbillion (NIS 166 billion) in 2024, including \u20ac15.9 billion (NIS 62 billion) in Israeli imports. The EU accounted for nearly a third of Israel\u2019s total international trade in goods last year.<\/p>\n If the agreement is suspended, the EU\u2019s\u00a0 \u20ac6 million (NIS 23.5 million) in financial support to Israel and \u20ac14 million (NIS 55 million) in annual support for projects supporting Israel in the context of the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, would all be put on pause.<\/p>\n Israel insists that it adheres to international law in its military conduct, says it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that the terror groups that it is fighting in Lebanon and Gaza use civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFILE: Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar, right, speaks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Jerusalem, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Oren Ben Hakoon)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26111323832845-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tBelgium\u2019s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Virginia Mayo)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20251215__887E2NR__v1__HighRes__BelgiumEuPoliticsCommission-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThis photograph shows an outside view of the Berlaymont building, the European Union Commission headquarters, in Brussels on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/F260410SL04-e1776351823164-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tView of the port in the northern city of Haifa, April 10, 2026. (Sharon Leibel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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