BRUSSELS: The European Union on Monday pushed Israel over its operation in the West Bank and the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting with the country’s foreign minister in Brussels. “We are closely watching developments, and cannot hide our concern when it comes to the West Bank,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the northern West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there were displaced by an intensifying, weeks-long military operation.

The expansion of Israeli operations in the West Bank come as tensions surge over a fragile truce deal in Gaza, which has largely halted more than 15 months of devastating conflict sparked by Hamas’ raid on Oct 7, 2023.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was prepared to resume fighting against Hamas after the Palestinian group accused it of endangering a five-week-old Gaza truce by suspending prisoner releases. “The cease fire is a real chance to break the cycle of violence. It is imperative that we now move towards second phase,” Kallas said.

European parliamentarian denied entry into Israel

The first phase of the truce is due to expire in early March, and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed. The EU and Israel meeting — which included foreign ministers from the bloc’s member states — was the first under the framework of an association agreement between the two sides since 2022.

That followed a decade-long suspension of such talks by Israel over EU criticisms of settlements in West Bank. The 27-nation bloc has been split over its approach to Israel and the conflict in Gaza. Spain and Ireland last year called for the bloc to suspend its association agreement with Israel due to abuses they allege were committed in Gaza.

But other pro-Israel countries in the EU refused to go that far. “I’ve heard all the positions of all member states, and I reacted to their position and their concerns, and I brought the Israeli positions,” Israeli minister Gideon Saar said.

“We are used to deal with criticism.” Rights groups had urged the EU to take a tough line with Israel at the meeting over its alleged abuses, with Human Rights Watch saying it should not be “business as usual”. “The only purpose of this Association Council meeting should be to call out those crimes and to announce long overdue measures in response,” the group said.

Denied entry to Jerusalem

Israel’s interior ministry said on Monday that it had refused entry to a French member of the European Parliament known for her criticism of the country.

Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, was travelling as part of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine. She and other MEPs were planning to meet with Palestinian representatives in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2025