Israel could still face an avalanche of EU sanctions despite its veto-holding allies in the Council, former diplomats have said.
"No substantive measures have been taken by the EU to pressure Israel to end its brutal war ... if the EU fails to take an effective stand, only member states individually or in ‘groups of like-minded countries’ will act," said 209 former EU and member state ambassadors and senior officials in an open letter on Tuesday (25 August).
They listed the national-level actions as: halting arms exports, denying transit flights for Israel arms suppliers, stopping Israeli bank transactions and data storage for firms that help Israel’s war effort, blacklisting Israeli extremists, and banning trade with Israeli settlers.
The signatories included 110 former ambassadors, 25 former director general, Alain Le Roy (former secretary general of the European External Action Service) and Carlo Trojan (former secretary general of the European Commission).
EU sanctions on Israel have so far been vetoed by its principal allies in the Council - the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany.
But if the other 24 EU countries, or even just the 18 who called for sanctions back in June, were to implement them at national level, Israel would still feel pressure, the letter said.
Individual countries in the Schengen travel area (which includes 25 EU states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) can ban visitors "Schengen-wide if a Schengen Information System alert is issued", they said.
Individual Israelis could also be required to "sign a declaration that they have not engaged with acts of violence, or in support of same, in the occupied Palestinian territory", before being allowed to enter.
Individual states could also prosecute"Israeli and Palestinian war criminals if they enter their territory," such as Israeli soldiers liked to specific cases of abuse.
The Israeli prime minister is already wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court in 125 countries worldwide.
The letter comes ahead of an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Denmark on Friday, which will discuss the war in Gaza.
The last time ministers met, on 15 July, they agreed a deal with Israel to let in food.
But in the past six weeks, the UN has declared "famine" and 200 people starved to death.
Israel has continued indiscriminate killing, including of five more journalists this week, pushing the death toll near 63,000.
It has also begun forcing Palestinians "into concentration areas in the south, in preparation for possible large-scale deportations to third countries with the risk of fomenting a migration crisis," the former EU ambassadors' letter said.
The initiative marks a low point in Israel's popularity in the West.
Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management also announced on Monday it was divesting from five Israeli banks (First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi Le Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and Bank Hapoalim), as well as US firm Caterpillar, which made bulldozers for destroying Palestinians' homes.
Ireland is passing a bill on banning trade with settler entities.
The Netherlands and Slovenia have blacklisted two Israeli extremist ministers, who called for ethnic cleansing of Gaza and West Bank.
France is also preparing to follow Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia in recognising Palestinian sovereignty on 1967 borders.
Even Germany has banned new arms sales to Israel and the last opinion survey in Germany in July by pollster Forsa saw 74 percent of Germans call for tougher action.
Meanwhile, Israel's apologists have hit back with blanket accusations of antisemitism.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the UN report on famine in Gaza a "blood libel", for instance, referring to medieval beliefs that Jews ritually murdered Christian babies and drink their blood.
And he has accused French president Emmanuel Macron of stoking Jew hatred by criticising his actions.
But for his part, Macron hit back in an open letter, also on Tuesday.
"I solemnly appeal to you to end the desperate race of a murderous and illegal permanent war in Gaza, causing indignity for your country and placing your people in a deadlock," Macron said.
He called Netanyahu's rhetoric "unacceptable and … an offence to France".
"The fight against antisemitism must not be weaponised," Macron said.
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.