BRUSSELS

Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, right, greets European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, during a round table meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024.

European Union foreign ministers decided Monday at a meeting in Brussels to reject a proposal by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to suspend the bloc’s diplomatic dialogue with Israel.

Speaking at his last press briefing as the bloc’s foreign policy chief following the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Borrell drew attention to the “apocalyptical” situation in Gaza and rapidly worsening humanitarian situation in Lebanon.

Borrell painted a grim picture of the situation in Gaza, describing it as “apocalyptic” and stressing the war’s disproportionate impact on civilians.

“Seventy percent of the casualties in Gaza are women or children,” Borrell said.

“The most frequent age of the casualties is 5 to 9 years old. This is a war against children.”

“This is why I proposed the suspension of the association agreement with Israel,” he added.

Despite Borrell’s attempts, most EU member states opted to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel.

“Most of the member states considered that it was much better to continue having a diplomatic and political relationship with Israel. So the decision was not taken into consideration as expected. But at least I put on the table all the information used by U.N. organizations and every international organization working in Gaza and the West Bank and Lebanon in order to judge the way war is being waged (by Israel).”

Mentioning the need to act against illegal Israeli settlers and the violence and destruction they commit, Borrell stressed that importance of sanctioning them and trade with the illegal settlements.

Borrell emphasized the need for concrete action beyond rhetoric to end the conflict and push for a two-state solution.

“The key word is implementation,” he stressed, urging both sides to make tangible progress towards peace.

Last week, Borrell proposed to formally suspend political dialogue with Israel over its disregard for international law in the Gaza Strip, which needed approval from all 27 EU countries.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 43,900 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 103,898 injured, according to local health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.​​​​​​​