Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. (Photo: Sicherheitskonferenz, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

A report by the EU’s diplomatic corps has found that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip may have violated the terms of the agreement.

Spain will formally request the European Union (EU) to immediately suspend the association agreement with Israel as well as an embargo on arms sales by the EU, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced on Monday.

“It is not the denunciations that are going to stop this inhumane war in Gaza, it is the actions,” Albares reportedly told journalists ahead of an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

He said he would call for “the immediate suspension of the association agreement, an embargo on arms sales by the European Union to Israel, and individual sanctions on all those who want to definitively derail the two-state solution.”

“We cannot look the other way,” Albares stated, adding that the EU “must act when grave violations of international humanitarian law are taking place.”

Increasing Pressure

Spain’s initiative is likely to deepen debate within the EU over its relationship with Israel and could increase pressure on other member states to take a firmer stance on human rights violations in Gaza, Al Mayadeen reported.

The EU and the Ethics of Trading with Israel: What Has Changed?

The EU-Israel association agreement forms the legal basis for political and economic cooperation between the bloc and Tel Aviv.

Human Rights Obligations

A report by the EU’s diplomatic corps has found that Israel’s actions in Gaza may have violated the terms of the agreement.

“There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” the European External Action Service said, citing assessments by independent international institutions, according to Reuters.

The report noted that Israel’s “continued restrictions to the provision of food, medicines, medical equipment, and other vital supplies affect the entire population of Gaza present on the affected territory.”

The EU-Israel association agreement, which came into effect in 2000, agreed that their relationship “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles,” the report said.

Request from States

The report’s findings follow a request by more than a dozen countries for the European Commission to probe the potential political and legal ramifications of Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza.

It includes a section “dedicated to the situation in Gaza, covering issues related to denial of humanitarian aid, attacks with a significant number of casualties, attacks on hospitals and medical facilities, displacement, and lack of accountability,” Reuters reported.

It also looks at the situation in the occupied West Bank, including violence against Palestinians by illegal settlers.

Rising Death Toll

The death toll in Gaza rose to 55,998 on Monday, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, with over 131,000 injuries since October 7, 2023.

Gaza Faces Famine: Lazzarini Warns of Starvation as World Kitchen Restarts Aid

Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.

(PC, Al Mayadeen, Agencies)