This is an open letter sent by EuroMed Rights to EU Ministers for Foreign Affairs ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council of 19 February 2024.
Dear Minister for Foreign Affairs,
We, EuroMed Rights, are reaching out to you in light of the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council meeting of the EU on February 19, to bring to your attention some recent developments regarding Israel’s war against Palestinians in Gaza.
As of February 14, Israel’s war against Palestinians in Gaza continues unrestrained, resulting in an alarming and disproportionately high number of casualties among the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza and other parts of the Occupied Palestinian territories. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that over 28.300 Palestinians have been killed and 67.000 others injured.
More than 75% of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced, with a significant concentration of internally displaced individuals now residing in the southern city of Rafah. Previously home to 250,000 people, Rafah now accommodates over 1.5 million Gazans, most of whom endure extreme deprivation, lacking access to basic necessities such as food, water, medication, hygiene, and power.
We express our profound concern over Israel’s recent announcement of its intention to escalate bombings and military incursions into Rafah. Given the dense civilian population in the city, any such attack would inevitably result in immense civilian casualties, particularly among women and children. We echo the statements made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk that any incursion into Rafah is a “terrifying” prospect. We agree with his considerations that an attack on Rafah would mean the breakdown of the meagre humanitarian aid reaching Gaza today and an increase in the risk of starvation and epidemic diseases in addition to the expected casualties deriving from such attacks.
Moreover, we fear that a military incursion into Rafah could not only result in a massacre of Palestinians but also pose a significant risk of ethnic cleansing and trigger a new migrant crisis if Gazans are forcibly expelled from the strip, an objective harboured by many in the Israeli government.
We remind the EU member states of the International Court of Justice’s recent decision on ordering Provisional Measures against Israel due to a plausible risk that acts of genocide may be taking place against Gazans. Third-party states are obligated to adhere to these measures, ensuring that they refrain from collaborating with genocidal acts and implement policies to prevent such atrocities. In this vein, we salute the letter of 14 February by Ireland and Spain to the European Commission’s President asking for “an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement”, and to propose appropriate measures to the European Council.
An attack on Rafah would undoubtedly constitute a genocidal act and must be swiftly halted by the EU and its member states. The recent decision to suspend funds to UNRWA of many European states would constitute an act of collective punishment both to UNRWA and to the Palestinians in distress it serves, contrary to the essence of the ICJ’s order.
In light of these grave circumstances, EuroMed Rights urges your government to:
- Pressure the Israeli government to refrain from military actions in Rafah and, on a broader scale, demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire over Gaza and on all fronts, as well as the lifting of the ongoing siege of Gaza. The EU is lagging the roaring international call for a humanitarian ceasefire, an essential call the block must take.
- Take all measures to ensure that the Provisional Measures of the ICJ are complied with, by establishing a two-way arms embargo on Israel, reviewing all agreements with Israel, recalling ambassadors and prosecuting officials in the Israeli government suspected of conducting plausible genocidal acts.
- In detail, Suspend the EU Israel Association-Council until further notice, considering Israel’s disregard to its commitments on the protection of human rights and democratic principles enshrined in article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement of 2000.
- Support international mechanisms of accountability such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to ensure that any violation of international law and human rights is brought to justice.
We remain at your disposal to complement the above-listed points.
Yours sincerely,
EuroMed Rights