The statement does not necessarily reflect the stance of all the members of EuroMed Rights
On 24 February 2025, during the EU-Israel Association Council meeting, the EU missed a crucial opportunity to ensure that its engagement with Israel is firmly grounded in its commitment to international humanitarian and human rights law.
In light of the international arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Israel’s leaders, in addition to the plausible findings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention, it is imperative that the EU reassesses its approach. Failure to address these serious issues at the highest possible level with Israel undermines the EU’s credibility in the international arena, and its long-term security interests in the region.
A clear and principled EU response is essential to prevent further entrenchment of Israel’s unlawful policies and apartheid, curb escalating violence against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Israel, and promote regional stability.
The ongoing violence in Palestine, despite the Gaza ceasefire agreement, is a continuation of long-standing systemic violations of international law, embodied by the settler-colonial apartheid regime dispossessing the Palestinian people. Military incursions and unchecked settler violence in the illegally occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have escalated, while on March 2nd Israel has once again blocked all humanitarian aid, including fuel, entering Gaza, which remains under siege, enduring severe humanitarian consequences, after months of genocide.
Those trying to counter this violence pay a heavy price. Israel continues to target Palestinian civilians, including aid workers, healthcare professionals, and journalists, while expanding illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). At the same time, Israel has banned and dismantled the EU-funded UNRWA, leaving 2.4 million Palestinian refugees across the oPt deprived of essential services. These actions violate international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and appear designed to provoke the forcible displacement of Palestinian communities, which constitutes a war crime. Such prospects worsened further when U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a plan for the very mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, referring to the territory as a “demolition site.”
In this context of unprecedented strain and ongoing breaches of international law, the undersigning organisations call on the EU to take a decisive stand to defend the international rules-based order, rooted in international law, in its policies towards Israel and the Palestinian people.
A Call for Immediate EU Action:
In the aftermath of the missed opportunity represented by the EU-Israel Association Council meeting, and in the absence of clear and measurable steps by Israel to address human rights violations, the EU and its Member States must stand strong and align their actions with international law, including the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of July 2024, which calls for an end to the occupation and an immediate cessation of Israeli violations. These actions, which should be immediately implemented, include:
- A full review of cooperation with Israel, including reviewing diplomatic relations, imposing lawful and targeted sanctions, suspension of trade and other cooperation agreements, until Israel ends its unlawful presence in the OPT, in line with the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion. This includes suspending the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which EU Member States are empowered to do by qualified majority vote. Failure to uphold the human rights conditions enshrined in Article 2 represents a flagrant disregard for the Agreement’s core principles.
- Increase diplomatic efforts to ensure the definitive end of the total siege on Gaza, and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, including fuel, into all areas of Gaza, including the regions of North Gaza and Gaza city.
- Suspend arms transfer to Israel and impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel.
- Ban trade with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, in line with the ICJ’s advisory opinion, and third states obligations under international law.
- Extend sanctions against settlers, as their violent and illegal actions continue to escalate. Sanctions must be imposed on all perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide.
- Support independent and international mechanisms to investigate the human rights violations in Palestine, including crimes committed prior to October 2023, in the West Bank and throughout Israel/Palestine, to bring truth and justice to all victims. Accountability is a cornerstone of peace, and the ICJ pending case and the ongoing ICC procedures in the Situation in the State of Palestine must be supported and enforced. This includes full cooperation with the ICC in executing arrest warrants.
- Call on the European Commission to activate all measures at its disposal to protect the independence and mandate of the ICC, including the Blocking Statute, to protect the autonomy of the ICC against non-EU actors’ sanctions.
Failing to impose consequences on Israel for its ongoing violations will only embolden further disregard for international law.
List of signatories:
- Al-Haq
- Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- CNCD-11.11.11
- EuroMed Rights
- Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
- Institute Novact of Nonviolence
- Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
- Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO)
- Plateforme des ONG Françaises pour la Palestine
- Sadaka-The Ireland Palestine Alliance