Ahead of the EU foreign affairs ministers' meeting to discuss the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said:
“The cost of inaction is measured in lives. Oxfam and partners see firsthand the unspeakable toll in Gaza: homes flattened, hospitals destroyed and looming famine. No one should live in this constant fear, not knowing if today will be the day they die.
“There is no time for more debate and no room for passing the buck. It is time for leadership and decisive action.
“Europe must ask itself: does it want to be complicit in these atrocities?”
Notes to editors
EU foreign affairs ministers will meet on Monday, 23 June, for the Foreign Affairs Council. On the table for discussion is the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement states “Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.” Israel’s well-documented violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, violate Article 2.
The ICJ issued an advisory opinion last year stating that “all States under obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and have an “obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. All EU countries and the EU are under this obligation.
Beyond suspending this agreement, Oxfam is calling for a permanent ceasefire, safe and unhindered humanitarian aid, an end to illegal Israeli occupation and a halt in all arm sales and transfers to Israel while there is a risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.
Contact information
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | mobile +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only) +32 484 81 22 94
For more information on our work and to see our latest press releases, please visit oxfam.org/eu.
For updates, follow us on Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn.
EU foreign affairs ministers will meet on Monday, 23 June, for the Foreign Affairs Council. On the table for discussion is the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement states “Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.” Israel’s well-documented violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, violate Article 2.
The ICJ issued an advisory opinion last year stating that “all States under obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and have an “obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. All EU countries and the EU are under this obligation.
Beyond suspending this agreement, Oxfam is calling for a permanent ceasefire, safe and unhindered humanitarian aid, an end to illegal Israeli occupation and a halt in all arm sales and transfers to Israel while there is a risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | mobile +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only) +32 484 81 22 94
For more information on our work and to see our latest press releases, please visit oxfam.org/eu.
For updates, follow us on Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn.