Gaza

As EU and Israeli officials meet today behind closed doors to discuss their bilateral relationship, Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, Oxfam humanitarian expert, said: “The EU includes human rights clauses in its bilateral deals for a reason, yet with Israel, these clauses seem optional. By having this meeting, the EU is signalling that it is business as usual”. 

In a letter published ahead of the European Union (EU)-Israel Association Council, a coalition of civil society and human rights organisations publish a clear case for the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement in the face of Israel’s breaches of international law and call on the European Commission to draft a proposal accordingly. The forthcoming EU-Israel Association Council must address Israel’s violation of Article 2 and act decisively to uphold its commitment to human rights and international law. 

Urgent call on parties to abide by their commitments towards a permanent ceasefire in Lebanon and appeal to the international community.

Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.  

Israel is in the late stages of ethnic cleansing of the North Gaza governorate, Oxfam says. For fifty days, Israel has prevented Oxfam, its partners, and other humanitarian agencies from delivering life-saving aid to thousands of starving people in north Gaza.

“While news of a ceasefire will bring relief to millions in Lebanon, it is only a fragile pause that will not guarantee an end to the violence."

Ahead of foreign affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, where discussions will include the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the wider region, Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, Oxfam humanitarian expert, said: 

“The discussions happening today behind closed doors have an impact on real people, people who are facing the unimaginable. Yet, Europe’s response is often lethargic – recently exemplified by their lack of response to Israel’s banning of UNRWA.

#CeasefireNow: Open Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel to Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe and Further Loss of Innocent Lives

The undersigned organisations jointly call for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in light of violations of human rights by the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). These human rights violations constitute a clear breach of Article 2, which makes the Agreement conditional upon the parties’ “respect for human rights and democratic principles”, which constitute “an essential element” of the Agreement. 

New displacement orders issued by Israeli authorities have forced another mass movement of families and humanitarian workers from areas in Deir al-Balah - one of the only remaining areas in the occupied Gaza Strip with essential infrastructure and warehouses storing aid supplies.