Al-Haq Europe takes note of the recent move by the Netherlands to request that the European Union review Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and to withhold support for the extension of the EU-Israel Action Plan. While such action is long overdue and falls dramatically short of what is required, it marks an important – if limited – development in the direction of accountability and the enforcement of international legal obligation.
This comes as Israel continues to execute its live-streamed genocide in the Gaza Strip – now entering its 19th month – amid shameful international inaction. For nearly 70 days, Israel has imposed a total, and illegal, blockade on food, fuel, and medicine to Gaza, deliberately starving the population in flagrant violation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) provisional measures and in violation of human rights law, humanitarian law, and the Genocide Convention. This deliberate starvation – used as a tool of war – constitutes a man-made famine and is calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Reports indicate that the Dutch position notes that Israel’s ‘continued blockade of humanitarian aid and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip’ is ‘at odds with the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice’. We recall that despite its obligation to respect the three sets of Orders issued by the ICJ under the Convention Against Genocide, each of which places obligations on Israel to facilitate the provision if humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel has simply continued to reject international law, and has intensified its genocidal conduct.
Israel’s plans to escalate its genocide through the indefinite military occupation, dispossession and domination of Gaza – the so-called “conquest plan”- makes its intentions clear. It is an act of open defiance of international law, further entrenching its settler-colonial violence against Palestinians.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israel’s intensifying settler-colonial violence, including unlawful killings, forced displacement, home demolitions, and land annexation, continues unchecked – all in breach of international humanitarian and human rights law. The ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, has reaffirmed the illegality of Israel’s prolonged occupation and the obligations of third states not to recognizes, aid, or assist in its continuation.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, including as documented in the written submissions of individual EU member states to the International Court of Justice, and repeated warnings from Palestinian civil society, the European Union has continued business as usual with Israel, effectively undermining both international law and the EU’s own legal framework. The EU’s ongoing cooperation violates Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which conditions such relations on respect for human rights and democratic principles.
European inaction has not been neutral – it has actively enabled Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. The Dutch proposal, while important, should not be viewed as a bold step forward, but rather as the bare minimum response to a catastrophic situation that European States have long facilitated through their silence, and their economic, diplomatic and political complicity with Israel.
Al-Haq Europe reiterates that the real test would be whether this step will mark the beginning of a broader process of accountability – following similar calls by Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, which have demanded accountability for Israel’s systematic violations of international law –rather than a substitute for it.
We therefore reiterate our urgent calls on the EU and its 27 Member States to:
- Immediately cancel the EU-Israel Association Agreement, including all economic, trade and institutional cooperation, in accordance with Article 2 and international law;
- Support the Dutch initiative at the 20 May 2025 Foreign Affairs Council and expand it into a collective EU position demanding accountability for Israel’s violations of international humanitarian and human rights law;
- Impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel;
- Impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials and settlers, and end all forms of military, security and research cooperation;
- Arrest and prosecute Israeli perpetrators of international crimes against Palestinians;
- End all exploitation of Palestinian maritime resources, and energy deals with Israel, including terminating the Great Sea Interconnector;
- Uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention, the 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinions, and the ICJ’s 2004 ruling, by ceasing all forms of complicity with Israel’s illegal occupation.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza is unfolding in real time, under global scrutiny, and amid shameful international inaction. It has been fueled not only by Israeli policy, but also by European Union complicity. The time for reviews and expressions of concern has long passed. The EU cannot claim to uphold international law, nor to be a democratic organization, while shielding Israel from its obligations.