Green Party manifesto calls to ‘suspend’ EU-Israel trade deal

The Green Party would ‘suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement’ according to their manifesto, released today.

In the 83 page document, the party outlines how they would “seek a just, sustainable and peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict”, by withdrawing from a major trade agreement worth over £1billion.

The manifesto condemns human rights violations by both parties buy singles out the “oppression and disproportionate use of aggression by the Israeli government” in Gaza last summer.

Article two of the Association Agreement which was signed in 1995 and came into effect in 2000, stresses that relations between the EU and Israel should be conditional “on respect for human rights and democratic principles”.

Green Party leaders have previously been critical of Israel, with Caroline Lucas – their only MP, calling for an “urgent” arms embargo on Israel in 2014.

The deputy leader of the Greens also came in for criticism. Shahrar Ali claimed at a pro Palestinian rally in London, that “just because you observe the niceties of Holocaust Memorial Day it does not mean you have learned the lessons of history.”