The EU sees "indications" of Israeli human rights violations in Gaza.

BrusselsThe European Union has "indications" that Israel is violating human rights in GazaThis is the verdict of the European Commission's report on whether Israel complies with humanitarian law and, therefore, with Article 2 of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel. This assessment, to which ARA has had access, was requested by member states in response to the attitude of Benjamin Netanyahu's government and carried out by EU diplomatic services, gathering information from various international entities—such as UNICEF and the International Court of Justice—that have access to the Gaza Strip.

The report is particularly critical of Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza, especially from the European Union, and of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. "Starvation is used as a method of war," the Brussels statement states. It also attacks the limitations Palestinians suffer in accessing medicine and healthcare, considering it a "collective burden," something completely prohibited under humanitarian law. Furthermore, according to the same entities, the Israeli army has repeatedly attacked journalists and healthcare facilities, and has particularly targeted children (44% of those killed in attacks on Israeli buildings in Gaza were children).

This report will be key in the EU Foreign Affairs Council's discussion on the future of the association agreement with Israel, as Article 2 requires that relations between the two parties must be "based on respect for human rights and democratic values." For the moment, several diplomatic sources rule out the application of sanctions against Netanyahu's government despite the report's accusations.

In this regard, diplomatic sources from several member states believe that the review of the agreement with Israel is currently intended only as a message of diplomatic pressure on Netanyahu. "We want to increase the pressure on Israel to change its behavior," they point out. In fact, even some of the Member States that supported the revision of the agreement and pushed for it prefer not to annul it, even partially or temporarily.

Along the same lines, EU sources assure that the head of European diplomacy does not plan nor intend to impose any sanctions on the Israeli government and will only present the report on whether Israel complies with Article 2 of the association agreement with the EU. "Once the report is presented, we want to see the reaction of the Member States," they indicate. Whatever the reaction, however, they point out that if they were to opt for taking measures against Tel Aviv, it would be at a later date, for example, at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council on July 15.

In this way, Kallas is expected to avoid pressure from some of the countries that have historically been the most pro-Palestinian, such as Spain, Ireland, and Belgium. She has also avoided commenting on Sweden's request in a letter to the European Commission and the EU to sanction ministers in Netanyahu's government. In fact, the head of European diplomacy excuses herself by citing the lack of unity among member states and, in her appearance before the European Parliament last Wednesday, recalled that "there was no consensus" to extend sanctions to Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Diplomatic sources from the most pro-Palestinian states also admit that requesting a revision of the agreement "was already very difficult" and recall that it was not approved unanimously, but by a qualified majority, with significant countries against it, such as Germany, Italy, and Hungary.

The war in Iran pushes the revocation of the agreement further away.

The war in Iran has emboldened the most pro-Zionist member states and EU leaders to once again publicly close ranks with the Netanyahu government. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, once again went it alone on this issue: she supported Israel's attack on Iran and framed it within its right to self-defense, which Kallas has not done, nor is it the EU's consensus position. In contrast, von der Leyen has avoided commenting on the association agreement at any point and did not respond to requests from Spain and Ireland to review it before Kallas requested it.

In this regard, diplomatic sources confirm that the conflicts in the Middle East "are completely linked" and that, "of course," the war in Iran "influences" the EU's position on the Netanyahu government and the future of the association agreement. "It's very difficult to muster enough support to sanction Israel," the same diplomatic sources insist.