The Taoiseach must demand an emergency European Council meeting at which sanctions on Israel are on the agenda, according to Social Democrats Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
“Israel is pursuing a policy of annihilation and mass destruction in Gaza. Its outrageous ground invasion of Rafah, and the closure of the border crossing which facilitates the delivery of aid, is the latest in a litany of war crimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now three months since the former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to request an \u201curgent review\u201d of the EU-Israel trade deal.\u00a0As far as we know, Ms von der Leyen has not even bothered to reply to that letter \u2013 never mind review or suspend the deal.<\/p>\n
“The pathetic and craven EU response to the slaughter of more than 35,000 people, including 14,000 children, in Gaza can be characterised as apathy and inaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs von der Leyen, and EU leaders, routinely speak about European values. To name just a few \u2013 human rights; equality; human dignity and the rule of law. Israel\u2019s slaughter of a captive population in Gaza is in direct contravention of every value Ms von der Leyen claims to hold dear.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite this, there has not been as much as a mildly critical statement of Israel\u2019s brutal actions from Ms von der Leyen. Quite the contrary, she has provided her unqualified support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next European council meeting is not scheduled until the end of June. The Taoiseach must demand an emergency meeting of the European Council at which sanctions on Israel \u2013 both economic and diplomatic \u2013 are firmly on the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Taoiseach must demand an emergency European Council meeting at which sanctions on Israel are on the agenda, according to Social Democrats Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “Israel is pursuing a policy of annihilation and mass destruction in Gaza. Its outrageous ground invasion of Rafah, and the closure of the border crossing which facilitates the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316,529,8,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gary-gannon","category-gaza","category-latest-news","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n