EU talks with Israel on upgrading ties put on hold

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The European Union and Israel have put negotiations on upgrading their ties on hold due to the war in the Gaza Strip, an EU envoy said on Wednesday.

Bilateral relations have been tested by Israel's 19-day-old military offensive in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, in which nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rockets fired across the border have also died since December 27.

Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the EU commission's ambassador to Israel, told reporters in Jerusalem that the war in the Gaza Strip meant bilateral relations between Israel and the 27-nation bloc "cannot proceed business as usual."

Cibrian-Uzal did not say how long the "mutually agreed time-out" in the negotiations would last.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said some talks had been due to take place but both sides agreed that "now is not the time," describing the postponement as "technical."

"This will resume as soon as we're all ready and set our minds to it," Palmor said.

The EU agreed last year to upgrade political and trade ties with Israel despite protests by Palestinian officials.

But EU officials pointed to wording in the agreement loosely linking any moves to implement it with progress in peace efforts.