A committee of experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council has advocated for an arms embargo on Israel, suggesting that providing arms to the nation is in breach of international human rights regulations.
This recommendation was reported by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, where committee members were noted to have raised concerns about Israel’s potential violations of humanitarian law.
In a related development, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, earlier this month subtly called on the United States to reassess its military support for Israel due to the significant civilian casualties in the conflict in Gaza.
Borrell referenced a statement by US President Joe Biden indicating that Israel’s reaction to an attack by Hamas on October 7 was excessively severe.
Borrell expressed his views to the media following a gathering of EU Development Ministers in Brussels, suggesting that a reduction in weapons supply might be necessary to prevent high casualty numbers.
He also expressed strong disapproval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach, pointing out Netanyahu’s apparent disregard for international pleas to enhance civilian protection efforts.
Borrell, visibly frustrated and emotional during his address, questioned the threshold of what constitutes an excessive number of casualties and what criteria are used to determine this.