114 NGOs urge EU to suspend partnership with Israel

ANKARA

A total of 114 civil society organizations (CSOs), including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called on the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel.

The EU External Action Service is reviewing the continuation of the Association Agreement with Israel under Article 2, which links the agreement to compliance with human rights and international law.

This review marks the first step in a procedure that could lead to suspension of the agreement.

The outcome of the review is expected to be discussed at today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

In a joint statement issued ahead of the meeting, the 114 NGOs said a credible review would inevitably conclude that Israel has “seriously” failed to meet the human rights conditions, and they called on the EU to suspend the agreement.

Noting that previous EU-Israel Association Council meetings called for a ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian access, and an end to unlawful practices, a top Human Rights Watch official said Tel Aviv has done the exact opposite.

“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," Claudio Francavilla, the group’s associate EU director, told Anadolu.

Palestine solidarity protests across Europe

Francavilla said Europe has seen months of protests in support of Palestine.

"People are talking about genocide, crimes against humanity," he added.

On the operations of the US-Israel-led Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which allegedly resulted in the systematic targeting of Palestinians at aid distribution centers, he said: “It is absolutely shocking what's going on, and there has been a lot of bottom-up pressure on the governments to finally act."

EU ‘hit bottom’ in Gaza

Francavilla said that the EU “rightfully” imposed sanctions on Russia, showing its “highest standard” to date.

Several months after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, he continued, “we saw the exact opposite, and the lowest standard ever from the EU when it comes to its response to Gaza, and this has led to accusation of double standards in foreign policy that are very, very well, well grounded."

This has led to "undeniable accusations" of double standards, he said.

The EU has failed to take action against Israel in official texts approved by its 27 member states, he added.

"If you go back to from Oct. 7, 2023 onwards, you will not find one condemnation of anything Israel did as a work party. The wording is not there," he said, referring to the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

He warned that if concrete measures, including suspending the trade aspects of the Association Agreement, are not taken, the review process would be meaningless.

EU is ‘too late’ for 60,000 lives

Francavilla stressed that governments in Europe were forced to act due to the protests in support of Palestine.

"They are 60,000 lives too late,” he said, mentioning the number of lives almost lost in Gaza so far. “They are an enormous amount of suffering too late. For suffering and destruction too late.”

He noted that while the EU has imposed sanctions on settlers over illegal activities in the West Bank, this does not reflect the fact that such actions are state-supported.

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

Francavilla emphasized that the human rights clause of the agreement is not only about Gaza, but also includes the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Lebanon.

He warned that any improvement in the humanitarian aid reaching Gaza should not be seen as “mission accomplished.”

He reiterated that Israel practices apartheid across all the occupied Palestinian territories.

Francavilla argued that EU governments are obligated to use all available tools to prevent genocide in Gaza.

He also criticized the notion held by some EU countries that merely threatening to suspend the agreement would be enough.