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ISRAEL BREACHED ITS association agreement with the EU by not fulfilling human rights obligations, in its military actions in Gaza, under a cooperation deal with member states, a much-anticipated review has found.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza – which has resulted in the deaths of 55,637 people, including women and children, since 7 October 2023 according to the health ministry there – is likely not in line with the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the review said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who was among the 17 European leaders who called on the EU to conduct the review last month in the aftermath of Israel’s near-three month siege on Gaza, has welcomed the conclusions.
He said today that “concrete steps” must be taken in respect of the review, which he intends to discuss at a leaders’ summit in Brussels next week.
Martin said the review paints a “grim picture of a sustained and deliberate failure by Israel to adhere to its international obligations, especially in Gaza but also in the West Bank”.
According to the Taoiseach, the review – which will be formally presented by the EU’s foreign affairs commissioner to European ministers on Monday – highlights a continued restriction of basic aid, such as food, medicine and other vital supplies, in Gaza.
The review says that it amounts to “collective punishment of the civilian population” – which is illegal under international law – and that it also amounts to the use of “starvation as a method of war”.
It also references the “unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians in Gaza” resulting from “indiscriminate attacks without proportion or precaution”.
Many of these incidents in recent weeks have taken place at and near aid stations in the region.
Israel has also been criticised in the review for its attacks on hospitals, the forced displacement of the civilian population and the murder of journalists in Gaza.
Martin said that these events have taken place “with a persistent lack of accountability”.
In the West Bank, the review reports a “sustained oppression” of the Palestinian population, including through “state and settler violence, the appropriation of land, and the use of detention as a form of collective punishment”.
Martin said there must be “serious consequences” for when human rights obligations and international law requirements are not observed in European association agreements.
While the review was a major step by European leaders, who have been criticised for their siding with Israel and lag in condemnation in the past, it is unlikely that immediate action will be taken in respect of the review.
European ministers and leaders, including the EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas and President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, have recently voiced support for Israel in its war against Iran.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week said Israel was doing “the dirty work… for all of us” with its campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.
Halting diplomatic dialogue with Israel – a measure that was already rejected last year – also requires backing from all EU member states.
With reporting by AFP
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