114 international civil and human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called on the European Union (EU) to suspend its partnership agreement with Israel. The open letter from group accuses Israel of committing genocide in Palestine, along with widespread violations of international law and human rights.

The joint statement came ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, which was partly devoted to reviewing relations with Israel in light of developments in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. The group referred to Israel’s violation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. That particular clause requires respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Instead, the group made the case that:

Amid overwhelming evidence of Israel’s atrocity crimes and other egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a credible review can only reach one conclusion: that Israel is in severe non-compliance with article 2.

In light of this, we call on the European Commission and all EU Member States to support meaningful and concrete measures, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, at least in part.

EU’s failed dialogue… and mounting public pressure

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, Claudio Francavilla, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said that attempts at dialogue with the Israeli government have failed:

It is clear that every attempt at dialogue has massively failed. And this is also where the frustration and the need for the member states to act is.

Francavilla also acknowledged the mounting anger in European streets via countless protests against the massacres being committed in Gaza. Such feeling was reflected in the tone of the statement, which took the EU to task:

We are appalled that it took the EU so long to launch this review, despite a request by Spain and Ireland already in February 2024, international court rulings, arrest warrants issued by International Criminal Court, and numerous reports by UN bodies, independent experts, prominent NGOs and scholars exposing Israel’s very serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the OPT, including war crimes, crimes against humanity – including forced displacement, apartheid and extermination – and genocide.

Francavilla added that double standards have become apparent in the positions of European countries, explaining that the Union acted quickly and harshly towards Russia because of the war in Ukraine, but did not take any decisive position or issue any official condemnation of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

He pointed out that some member states are actively working to prevent the use of legal terms such as “war crimes” or “genocide” in official European statements, which empties the review of the agreement of any substance unless it is followed by practical measures, foremost among which is the suspension of the economic partnership.

Background to EU partnership

The partnership agreement between the EU and Israel dates back to 2000 and provides a framework for political and trade cooperation, explicitly linking it to respect for human rights. Under the agreement, Israel benefits from extensive economic privileges within the European market.

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza last October, Israeli military operations have left more than 187,000 dead. According to Palestinian data, most of these dead are women and children. On top of that, there are more than 14,000 missing and thousands more displaced, amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

The signatories of the open letter say that Israel, with unconditional US support, is pursuing a systematic policy of collective punishment and destruction of civilian infrastructure. They describe Israel’s actions as in what these organisations describe as a clear case of “genocide.”

Absent justice and no accountability

Francavilla also warned that the Israeli military isn’t holding soldiers or settlers remotely to account for their violations against Palestinians. Anadolu Agency reported that Francavilla:

referred to findings by Israeli NGOs showing that the conviction rate for crimes committed by settlers in the West Bank is only 3%.

This report comes at a time of increasing pressure on European institutions to take a tougher stance, not only to stop ongoing violations, but also to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law as a condition for continued cooperation. In a blistering conclusion, the statement concluded:

In this context, a weak or inconclusive review of Israel’s compliance with article 2, and/or failure by the Commission and Council to suspend at least part of the Association Agreement, would ultimately destroy what’s left of the EU’s credibility – and, most importantly, it would further embolden Israeli authorities to continue their atrocity crimes and other egregious violations against the Palestinians in total impunity.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

This post was originally published on Canary.