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EU foreign ministers have a "significant" discussion about sanctioning Israel if it continues to flout international humanitarian law, said Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin on Monday.
“There was a very clear consensus about the need to uphold the international humanitarian legal institutions,” Martin told reporters following the Foreign Affairs Council.
“For the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I’ve seen significant discussion on sanctions and ‘what if’,” Martin said. He acknowledged that there is “some distance between people articulating the need for a sanctions-based approach if Israel does not comply with the ICJ … to agreement in the Council meeting, given the different perspectives there.”
“But there is a lot of concern … the EU has always upheld the independence of the ICJ and the need for nations to comply with it,” he said.
“There was a strong discussion on the provisional orders of the International Court of Justice,” Martin said, with “very clear views that Israel should adhere to those provisional orders to open the border crossing with Rafah and cease its military operations in Rafah.”
“One of the conclusions was to convene a meeting of the EU-Israeli Association Council to raise our grave concerns and to … seek from Israel a response in terms of complying with the orders of the Court,” he said.
“There was a very clear consensus about the need to uphold the international humanitarian legal institutions,” Martin told reporters following the Foreign Affairs Council.
“For the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I’ve seen significant discussion on sanctions and ‘what if’,” Martin said. He acknowledged that there is “some distance between people articulating the need for a sanctions-based approach if Israel does not comply with the ICJ … to agreement in the Council meeting, given the different perspectives there.”
“But there is a lot of concern … the EU has always upheld the independence of the ICJ and the need for nations to comply with it,” he said.
“There was a strong discussion on the provisional orders of the International Court of Justice,” Martin said, with “very clear views that Israel should adhere to those provisional orders to open the border crossing with Rafah and cease its military operations in Rafah.”
“One of the conclusions was to convene a meeting of the EU-Israeli Association Council to raise our grave concerns and to … seek from Israel a response in terms of complying with the orders of the Court,” he said.
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