EU review suggests Israel in breach of cooperation deal over Gaza

By AFP/Umberto BACCHI

Israel may have fallen short of its human rights obligations under a cooperation deal with the EU over its offensive in Gaza, a review of the agreement found Friday, upping pressure on Brussels to take action.

Israel's conduct in the Palestinian territory was likely not in line with the principles laid out in the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which forms the basis for trade ties, according to the audit drafted by the EU's diplomatic service.

"On the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions... there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations," said the document seen by AFP.

Representatives of the EU's 27 member states were handed the report on Friday.

The text cited Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid for Gaza, the high number of civilian casualties, attacks on journalists and the massive displacement and destruction caused by the war among the possible rights violations.

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is to present its findings to foreign ministers from the bloc's 27 nations in Brussels on Monday.

But what action might follow is unclear, as the outbreak of Israel's war with Iran threatens to scupper the necessary consensus among EU member states for Brussels to take any significant step.

'Trap'

The European Union launched the audit last month in response to acute suffering in the Palestinian territory, in a push backed by 17 states and spearheaded by the Netherlands.

It marked a milestone of sorts, given the EU has long struggled to have an impact on the Mideast conflict due to longstanding divisions between countries that back Israel and those seen as more pro-Palestinian.

But suspending the EU-Israel accord outright would require unanimity among member states -- something diplomats have said from the outset was virtually impossible.

Halting diplomatic dialogue with Israel -- a measure that was already rejected last year -- also requires backing from all EU countries.

Trade measures could instead be adopted with a qualified majority, diplomats said, cautioning however that agreeing on those might also prove tricky.

Several European diplomats said they expected Kallas to propose some options at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in July.

But one said no action was likely to be agreed on before the end of the summer, adding the war in Iran has moved the goalposts -- pushing some nations to voice renewed support for Israel.

"The question is... how many member states would still be willing not to do anything and still keep on saying that it's business as usual," another diplomat said, pre-empting the review's findings.

"It's really important to not fall into the trap of Israel to look somewhere else".

Pressure to act

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week said Israel was doing "the dirty work... for all of us" with its campaign targeting Iran's nuclear programme.

Berlin was already among the EU capitals that had opposed even reviewing the EU-Israel deal, as did fellow economic heavyweight Italy.

The EU is Israel's biggest commercial partner, with 42.6 billion euros ($48.2 billion) traded in goods in 2024. Trade in services reached 25.6 billion euros in 2023.

Nine EU countries, including Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Poland, this week called on the European Commission to come up with a plan to end trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are illegal under international law.

Separately on Thursday more than 100 aid groups and other organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged Brussels to suspend the EU-Israel agreement "at least in part".

Citing "overwhelming evidence of Israel's atrocity crimes and other egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians" in a letter, the signatories said failure to act would "destroy what's left of the EU's credibility" and further embolden Israel.

Israel, after pounding most of Gaza into rubble following Hamas's attack of October 7, 2023, cut off all food and other vital supplies to the besieged territory for more than two months starting in March.

Israel eventually let in some aid -- but through a controversial US-backed initiative coordinated with the Israeli military, a setup the UN says violates basic humanitarian principles.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach distribution points.