"We are closely watching developments, and cannot hide our concern when it comes to the West Bank," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, according to AFP.
On Sunday, Israel said its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the northern West Bank after at least 40,000 Palestinians living there were forcibly displaced by an intensifying, weeks-long military attack.
The expansion of Israeli operations in the West Bank comes as tensions surge over a fragile truce deal in Gaza, which has primarily halted more than 15 months of a devastating war in which Israel killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Tel Aviv was prepared to resume fighting as his government is endangering a five-week-old Gaza truce by suspending Palestinian detainee's releases.
"The cease fire is a real chance to break the cycle of violence. It is imperative that we now move towards second phase," Kallas said, AFP added.
The first phase of the truce is due to expire in early March. However, details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed upon with Israel and the US trying to extend the first phase.
The EU and Israel meeting -- which included foreign ministers from the bloc's member states -- was the first under the framework of an association agreement between the two sides since 2022.
That followed a decade-long suspension of such talks by Israel over EU criticisms of colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Spain and Ireland last year called for the bloc to suspend its association agreement with Israel due to abuses committed in Gaza.
"I've heard all the positions of all member states, and I reacted to their position and their concerns, and I brought the Israeli positions," Israeli minister Gideon Saar said.
"We are used to deal with criticism."
Rights groups had urged the EU to take a tough line with Israel at the meeting over its alleged abuses, with Human Rights Watch saying it should not be "business as usual," AFP reported.
"The only purpose of this Association Council meeting should be to call out those crimes and to announce long overdue measures in response," the group said.
Meanwhile, Israel on Monday denied entry to two European Union lawmakers, accusing one of promoting boycotts of the country.
Lynn Boylan, who chairs the European Parliament EU-Palestine delegation, and Rima Hassan were refused entry at Ben-Gurion airport and ordered to return to Europe.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said French politician Hassan has “consistently worked to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews.”
Hassan, 32, is a member of the Left group in the European Parliament.
According to her office, she travelled by air to Israel with four other lawmakers as part of an EU-Palestine delegation.
The office said it was unaware of the decision to bar her entry to Israel.
No reasons were immediately given for Boylan being denied entry.
Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan speaks during a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. AP
Boylan said she had planned to meet with Palestinian Authority officials, representatives of civil society organizations and people living under Israeli occupation. Boylan is a member of the Sinn Fein party in Ireland, which has been among the most vocal countries in criticizing the Israeli government over its treatment of Palestinians.
“This utter contempt from Israel is the result of the international community failing to hold them to account,” Boylan said in a statement, according to AP.
“Israel is a rogue state, and this disgraceful move shows the level of utter disregard that they have for international law. Europe must now hold Israel to account,” AP added.
Israeli legislators passed a law this month that prohibits entry to the country to people who expressed support for the international prosecution of Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The law, which affects non-citizens and non-residents of Israel, builds on previous legislation that denied entry to anyone calling for a boycott of Israel.
Opponents saw the original law as an attempt by Israel to silence critics, and it was used on multiple occasions to bar entry to activists who support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, known as BDS.
BDS is a nonviolent activism based on a similar campaign against apartheid South Africa.
On Friday, Hassan and The Left group called for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement – a pact that underpins their relations – given the International Court of Justice's investigation into genocide and crimes committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
Hassan called for a rally outside the EU headquarters where the meeting with the Israeli minister occurred.
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