Germany and Italy on Tuesday rejected proposals to halt the EU’s cooperation agreement with Israel, even as anger mounts within the bloc over Israel’s actions in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank.
Spain and Ireland had put the issue of halting the June 2000 agreement back on the table at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the proposal "inappropriate".
"We have to talk with Israel about the critical issues," he said, adding: "That has to be done in a critical, constructive dialogue with Israel."
Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani pushed back as well, saying that "no decision will be taken today".
Attitudes towards Israel among EU member states, already hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, have stiffened further after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and a new law on the death penalty for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
"We need to act. We need to make sure that our fundamental values are protected," Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said.
Facing alarm at the civilian toll exacted in the Gaza war, the EU last year already put on the table a raft of potential measures to punish Israel, including cutting trade ties or sanctioning government ministers.
But so far none of the steps laid out by Brussels has garnered enough support from member states to be put into action.
Suspending the entirety of the EU's cooperation agreement requires unanimity among the bloc's 27 countries and would almost certainly be blocked by allies of Israel.
More feasible could be suspending the part of the deal facilitating closer trade ties, a move that only requires support from a weighted majority of EU countries.
But that would require a shift in position from EU heavyweights Germany or Italy.
Rome had appeared to signal it could be open for a tougher line on Israel after it suspended a defence agreement.
"The measures that we have already on the table that require qualified majority will require states shifting their position," Kallas said after the meeting.
"We didn't see that today, but these discussions will continue."
Meanwhile, there were efforts to advance smaller measures instead.
France and Sweden re-upped an earlier call from some other EU countries for the bloc to consider halting the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.
A separate proposal for sanctions on "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been vetoed by Hungary for months.
But the recent ouster of staunch Israel backer Viktor Orban in Hungarian elections has raised hopes among other EU countries that those could soon go into force.
Israel has been slammed for repeatedly violating the Gaza cease-fire, in place since Oct. 10, 2025, killing 777 Palestinians and injuring 2,193 others.
Israeli offensive in Gaza, retaliating to a Hamas attack on southern Israel, has killed more than 72,500 Palestinians, wounded over 172,000 others, while destroying about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure since Oct. 7, 2023.
In Lebanon, the Israeli strikes have killed over 2,450 people since March despite a cease-fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israeli forces are also occupying parts of southern Lebanon, with Israel claiming it aims to create a “buffer zone” to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks.
The Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both referred to Israel's deployment line in Lebanon as the "Yellow Line" last week - the same term used by Israel for its deployment line in Gaza.
Israeli officials have since refrained from describing it in those terms, instead calling it a "forward defense line" that was marked in red in a military map published on Sunday that included a "naval forward defense area" extending from Lebanon's coast into the sea.
