Sweden has called on the European Union to suspend the trade part of the association agreement with Israel because of the country’s conduct in the war in Gaza, AFP reported. “The situation in Gaza is absolutely horrifying, and Israel is not fulfilling its most basic obligations and agreements on emergency aid,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post on the platform X.

“That is why Sweden insists that the EU freeze the trade part of the association agreement as soon as possible,” Kristersson added, urging the Israeli government to allow “unhindered access for humanitarian aid in Gaza.”

The association agreement between the EU and Israel is a framework for trade and political relations. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for nearly one-third of the country’s global trade, according to EU data.

Kristersson’s statement comes just two days after a similar position from the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp said his country would push to suspend the trade element of the agreement if Israel fails to meet its humanitarian commitments.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza deeply divides EU member states. Some countries, including Germany, support Israel’s right to defend itself within international law, while others, such as Spain, condemn what they call a “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.

An EU report presented at the end of June to the 27 member states found that Israel may have failed to fulfill its human rights obligations under the cooperation agreement with the EU. |BGNES