Opening remarks

Dear President, 

Honourable Members of the European Parliament, 

First, let us remember where this started. On 7th October 2023, Hamas carried out the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history. 

Israel has a right to self-defence.

But what we see in practice from Israel goes beyond self-defence. We have made this very clear in recent weeks.

Blocking food and medicine for Palestinians trapped in Gaza doesn’t protect Israel. 

By-passing UN aid deliveries doesn’t help the people. It undermines decades of humanitarian principles.  

And the humanitarian situation is still deteriorating.

Three warehouses were recently open in Gaza, but only one is now accepting new deliveries.

At every single opportunity I have called on my Israeli counterparts to let aid flow and allow aid organisations to operate freely. You must ask the same. 

Reports last night that Israeli forces killed over 50 Palestinian people waiting for flour at a Gaza aid site are beyond shocking. 

Every day this war continues, humanity slips further away.

Enough is enough.  

A month ago, Israel also began an offensive in Gaza. 

“Operation Gideon's Chariots” has involved:

• a disproportionate use of force,
• the continued targeting of civilian infrastructure
• and an unacceptable death toll.

90% of people living in the Strip have already been displaced. Those who remain are entirely dependent on aid which isn’t coming in. 

Israel's stated objective is to take control over the entire Gaza Strip.

Altering, reducing or annexing territory is a direct violation of international law. Should all or parts of Gaza’s civilian population be permanently forced from their homes, this too would be a violation of international law. We must call it out as such.

The West Bank, in parallel, is in a state of chaos. Israel Defense Forces are dismantling Palestinian terrorist networks and terrorism is declining. But settler violence is increasing. This isn’t logical if terrorism is to blame for settler violence. 

Intimidation campaigns, physical and verbal attacks, and the destruction and burning of property and homes are leading to the displacement of entire Palestinian communities.

This is outright lawlessness. 

Israel must come face to face with its own extremists.

And what is happening in the West Bank threatens the formation of a Palestinian state and peace for the region in the long run.

Honourable Members,

As the European Union, our job is not to lament but to ask ourselves what we have in our power to do in response.

Three points.

First, we must put the pressure on Israel. 

Last month, a majority of EU Foreign Ministers supported a review of our Association Agreement and Israel’s compliance with Article 2. 

Article 2 imposes binding obligations on the parties to observe human rights.

When we started this review, humanitarian aid had been blocked from entering Gaza for 11 weeks straight. 

The review is being discussed as we speak.

Next Monday, we will discuss the review. I will also brief EU leaders at the European Council a few days later. 

I know that there are many outspoken voices here. But I have to underline that whatever happens, these are ultimately choices for our Member States to take. We will move together as a Union.

Second, we do everything we can possibly do to alleviate suffering. 

• The European Union is the largest international donor to the Palestinian people.
• Our humanitarian funding for this year alone is 170 million euro.  
• And since October 2023, the EU has helped transport close to five thousand tonnes of humanitarian cargo into Gaza.

I have said this many times now – including to my Israeli counterparts – the answer to threats of aid being weaponised is not to block it but to flood the region with so much aid it cannot be misused.

There is more than enough to do this. The amount of aid is not the problem but the access is.

Third, specifically on settlements.  

EU leaders have repeatedly condemned the Israeli government’s decisions to expand illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. We have urged Israel to reverse these decisions. 

The EU has also repeatedly condemned the ongoing extremist settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

We have already adopted sanctions against nine individuals and five entities responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians. 

Discussions are ongoing on further sanctions against extremist settlers, and against entities and organisations which support them, and against Hamas supporters. 

But we don’t have unity yet and this is something we should all push for.

Honourable Members,

We must remember where this began. Israel has a right to exist and defend itself. No one should live in terror. 
Our focus must be on where this can lead.

Pressure must increase on the Israeli government. I will do this on my side as I have repeatedly done.

Likewise, we must use every avenue to pressure Hamas into handing over Gaza governance to the Palestinian Authority. A united Arab world can apply pressure here. 

And the European Union remains firmly committed to a two-state solution. 

The conference led by France and Saudi Arabia that was postponed from this week should still take place. We need international mobilisation behind the two-state solution. 

The two-state solution is the right path and always will be. It is the only means for just and lasting peace for Israelis as well as the Palestinians.

Thank you.

Closing remarks

So I'm listening here and listening that you are speaking like I am the sole responsible for what is happening in Palestine. I'm representing not myself here, but I'm representing 27 Member States. If I would be, if it would up to me, personally me, I would take these decisions, but it's not. I'm representing 27 Member States, and that is the frustration that I have.

The accusations here that I've been silent. Maybe the gentleman, Mr. Lucano, from the left, came in before his speech and left after his speech, so he didn't listen to my speech in the first place and my interventions afterwards. So how can you say that I've been silent? Because I haven't been silent. I've been very vocal about this, also about international law and everything. So this is just simply not true.

But I also try to do something to alleviate the human suffering that is happening in Palestine, like I was saying yesterday. But because many of you were not here in the plenary, I can repeat what I said yesterday. Yes, it is very painful for me to see the suffering. When I'm hearing that 50 people have been killed in the line for getting flour, it is painful, of course, I ask myself, what more can we do? And I'm in contact with the Israeli counterpart, because I'm putting the pressure on them to actually let the aid in, to help the people, not to weaponise the humanitarian aid, to use the structures that are already there to alleviate the suffering.

On the sanctions. Sanctions need unanimity, and again, I'm representing 27 and yes, you can say that, take the lead and present these things. But what use is it, if I do this, I feel better myself that I've done something. But actually I know that this will not go through. I know that this will not go through and then it will just show that we don't have a common position.

And all of those who have spoken here, I recommend you, especially from those countries whose governments are representing a different view, put the pressure on the governments to really change the position. We had the discussion on doing the review of the Association Agreement. Two thirds of Member States were in favor of doing this, which shows that the public support of the public opinion in your Member States is changing, and that makes the governments also act and change their position in the council. Of course there are tools like I spoke of yesterday. We also need consensus in the college, so those tools that don't need unanimity of all the Member States still require consensus in the college. And in the college, we have 27 Member States represented, and the College commissioners come with that.

And of course, there are violations of international law. I agree. I try to do as much as possible to help. And when it comes to the parallels with Ukraine, the difference is that there we have 27 Member States all agreeing, and that's why we can't do these things. But sanctions need unanimity, they need everybody on board, and we don't have 27 Member States on board and that's the reality.