The EU commission wants to maintain good relations with Israel, even as the UN human rights commission accuses the country of committing genocide in Gaza.
Nikolaj Nielsen
The European Commission has tried to avoid pinning blame on any single actor for the EU’s lack of action over accountability for violence in Gaza and the West Bank — but its own language makes clear that responsibility lies with national capitals, since foreign policy decisions require their agreement.
“This is not a blame game, but the ball is in the council,” said Dubravka Šuica, the EU commissioner in charge of the Mediterranean.
Speaking to MEPs in the Strasbourg plenary on Wednesday (8 July), Šuica said the commission’s proposal to suspend a trade agreement with Israel has been on the table since last September amid settler violence and a ceasefire that has seen some 1,000 Palestinians killed.
“The member states are divided, just to make you aware,” she added, hoping consensus among the 27 European leaders could be found during the Irish EU presidency.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship, and that clause is now at the centre of growing pressure to suspend the pact.
Over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Hamas attacks in October 2023 with the UN human rights commission declaring Israel has committed genocide as settler violence continues to spike in the occupied Palestinian Territories.
