By Staff, Agencies

The European Union will suspend its bilateral support programs with "Israel" and freeze related payments over the entity's ongoing siege of Gaza, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday.

She stressed that what is happening in Gaza has “shaken the conscience of the world” and that in addition to suspending payments, the EC will propose sanctions on “extremist ministers and violent settlers” and “propose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.”

The EC had previously also proposed suspending "Israel’s" access to EU Horizon research funding for start-up companies, although von der Leyen noted that the move is not yet possible because it needs support from a weighted majority of the bloc’s 27 member states.

The initiative is currently opposed by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and several other states.

Von Der Leyen insisted that the EU “cannot afford to be paralyzed” in the face of “catastrophic” images coming out of Gaza of people being “killed while begging for food” and “mothers holding lifeless babies.”

Over 64,000 people have been killed in Gaza since "Israel" launched its campaign two years ago.

Von der Leyen’s announcement comes after "Israel" also drew international criticism on Tuesday for carrying out an attack on a compound in the Qatari capital of Doha.