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A group of 325 former EU ambassadors and senior officials has called on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to impose sanctions on Israel in a letter seen by Euronews, citing its military actions in Gaza and settlement policies in the West Bank.
In the letter, the ex-EU envoys and officials ask the UNGA and the UN Security Council (UNSC) “to adopt sanctions against the multiple violations of international law being perpetrated daily by the Israeli government on the people of Palestine”.
The UN has condemned the actions of Israel in the West Bank and Gaza in multiple non-legally binding resolutions over the years.
But formal sanctions have never been approved yet by the UNSC, and the five permanent members — China, France, Russia, UK and US — each have the power to veto such decisions.
Close relations between Israel and the US have strengthened under the administration of President Donald Trump.
In July, the US sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, after she published a report in June on which international companies are assisting Israel in its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
In the letter, the ex-EU officials also ask the US to “rescind decisions taken preventing official representatives of Palestine and the UN from even engaging in dialogue at UNGA”.
Recognition of Palestine
“We urge EU member states that have not yet done so to join both the 147 UN member states who have already recognised the State of Palestine, and those who have announced they will do so at the upcoming UNGA meeting, notably France, Belgium, Malta, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia,” the letter said.
“The heinous attacks of 7 October 2023 by Hamas and others against Israeli citizens, along with the continuing detention of hostages, can never justify the retribution wreaked on Gaza which is becoming the graveyard of international law and universal human rights,” the signatories added.
According to the latest Hamas-run Gaza health ministry figures, more than 64,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive in the Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October 2023. The ministry’s numbers do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The UN declared that Gaza has been in a state of famine since the end of August, while on 5 September, the Israeli army started a wide operation to take over Gaza City.
Israel has consistently criticised the UN for a wide range of issues, including what it sees as bias against it, excessive focus on its actions compared to other conflicts and condemning its military operations in Gaza while not condemning Hamas enough.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has always rejected UN resolutions calling for sanctions or other punitive measures, viewing them as biased and counterproductive.
