In response to the European Union’s (EU) consistent failure to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns said:
“It’s beyond shameful that a majority of EU member states, led by Germany and Italy, continue to block the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Countries committed to uphold international law must not remain silent while others actively undermine the very principles they claim to defend.
“As the current holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Ireland is in a powerful position to influence the EU’s course of action on Israel. It must seize this critical opportunity to help ensure that member states meet their obligations under international law. Ireland’s experience of colonization, famine and conflict, its leading role in international efforts to end apartheid in South Africa and its recent albeit limited progress towards banning imports of goods from settlements, give it a unique perspective and authority that should be used to seek accountability for Israel’s grave violations and to anchor EU policy on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) firmly in the protection of human rights.
“If the EU will not act together, member states must act individually and unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law, including by imposing a comprehensive embargo on the export of arms and surveillance equipment and related technology, and a total ban on trade with and investment in Israel’s illegal settlements in the OPT.
“The EU must stop allowing Israel to face no meaningful consequences for its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, its system of apartheid against Palestinians, including its ethnic cleansing campaign in the occupied West Bank, its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory, and war crimes in Lebanon.
“In the pages of history, there will be a clear distinction between those who failed to act in the face of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and those who stood up for humanity.”
Background
The European Commission finally presented options for restricting trade with illegal Israeli settlements, none were adopted at the Foreign Affairs Council on 13 July.
For 25 years Amnesty International has warned of Israel’s breaches of the Association Agreement. A year ago, the European Commission belatedly found Israel to be in breach of the agreement.
The EU and all its member states are under a clear obligation to prevent trade and investments that assist in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory, including the establishment, expansion and maintenance of illegal settlements, as set out in the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 2024.
A minimum first measure towards upholding this obligation must be an EU-wide ban on trade with settlements, encompassing imports and exports of goods and services from and to the settlements and investments therein.
On 1 July, Ireland assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ireland has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s atrocities in the OPT and Lebanon.