EU-Israel Association Agreement

Today, European Foreign Affairs Ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East, including Lebanon and Palestine. In response, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said:  “Discussions without action are meaningless. We have seen this pattern before – talk, delay, repeat. And in the meantime, Israel continues to kill, wound and displace people. What is needed now – and has been for a long time – is the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. 

We, the undersigned humanitarian and human rights organisations and trade unions, write to you as Israeli authorities escalate their brutal repression and illegal annexation policies in Palestine, and violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Palestine and Lebanon to urge you to adopt the long-overdue measures proposed by President von der Leyen in September 2025, in particular the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, along with any additional steps necessary to comply with international law, including banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and suspending all transfers and transit of arms to Israel.

Today, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, presented a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement at the meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers. In response, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said:   “There are moments in history where delay and distraction are not neutral, it is a decision. While EU ministers continue to debate and defer, entire families in Gaza are being buried under rubble and people are being killed while trying to get food.  

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?” 

In reaction to the recent announcement that the EU will review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s Policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza: “Let’s be clear: it is a welcome step, but far too little and too late. For months upon months, the people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. Entire families erased. Homes, hospitals and schools reduced to rubble.

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.