Borrell proposes suspension of 'political dialogue with Israel'

The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said that he has proposed to EU member states the banning of imports from illegal Israel settlements and the suspension of political dialogue with Israel, citing the country's many violations of international law in Gaza and Lebanon.

In a blog post, Borrell highlighted that in other cases of violations of international law, the EU had imposed numerous sanctions, but that "until now Israel has been spared from any meaningful consequences".

"This has to change. This is why I have proposed an import ban on illegal settlement products, based on the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, similar to the existing import ban on products from occupied Ukrainian territories – because even-handedness is the lynchpin of Europe’s credibility," he said.

The Foreign Affairs Council will discusses the proposed measures next week.