'Cruel and Unlawful': Global Fury as EU Plays Footsie With Israel Amid Active Genocide in Gaza

The head of one of the world's top humanitarian organizations called the results of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday "one of the most disgraceful moments in the E.U.'s history" after the officials refused to suspend the bloc's trade deal with Israel—weeks after the E.U.'s own review found that Israel's assault on Gaza is breaching human rights obligations within the agreement.

"European leaders had the opportunity to take a principled stand against Israel's crimes, but instead gave it a green light to continue its genocide in Gaza, its unlawful occupation of the whole occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), and its system of apartheid against Palestinians," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International.

The meeting was held by 27 foreign ministers a week after Kaja Kallas, the E.U.'s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, forged a deal with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in which Israel said it would allow food and fuel to enter Gaza through aid crossings after months of a near-total blockade. The vast majority of aid has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel began its assault on the enclave in October 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack—an assault that, despite claims to the contrary by Israel and its allies, has targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure and not just Hamas.

The E.U. has said that about 80 aid trucks are now being allowed into Gaza per day—still a fraction of the 500 per day that entered the enclave before Israel's bombardment began.

Bushra Khalidi, policy lead in the OPT and Gaza for Oxfam International, said that "in reality," the recent aid deal "is mere bread crumbs" that "cannot stop this catastrophe."

"We cannot continue to watch children killed and say, 'We are making progress.' We cannot watch food rot in aid trucks while people starve and say, 'This is working,'" said Khalidi. "The E.U. cannot continue to maintain full ties with a government it acknowledges may be violating E.U. human rights principles, while offering humanitarian aid with one hand and enabling impunity with the other. We do not need another cautious statement nor another backroom deal. We need real leadership and decisive action. Enough of passing the buck. Enough of the delay. Enough of the bloodshed." 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Wednesday that 1 in 10 Palestinian children in Gaza are now malnourished due to the continued blockade, and the U.N.-backed Global Protection Cluster reported that Israel's bombings and shellings are now causing an average of 10 children per day to lose at least one limb. Since Israel began its attacks, Gaza now has the grim distinction of having the highest number of child amputees per capita.

Human rights organizations and renowned experts have said Israel's assault on Gaza is a genocide.

Considering the humanitarian crisis on the ground in Gaza, directly caused by Israel's assault, Callamard said the E.U.'s refusal on Tuesday to suspend the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement or take other steps to hold Israel accountable was "a cruel and unlawful betrayal—of the European project and vision, predicated on upholding international law and fighting authoritarian practices, of the European Union's own rules and of the human rights of Palestinians."

"European leaders had the opportunity to take a principled stand against Israel's crimes, but instead gave it a green light to continue its genocide in Gaza."

Oxfam emphasized that Article 2 of the trade and cooperation agreement states that "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."

At the meeting in Brussels, member states were presented with 10 options, including an arms embargo, sanctions on Israeli ministers, halting visa-free travel for Israeli citizens to the E.U., or banning trade with Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Along with the suspension of the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement, those options were rejected by a majority of the foreign ministers.

Kallas said the E.U. will "keep these options on the table and stand ready to act if Israel does not live up to its pledges," but emphasized that "the aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to improve the situation in Gaza."

As The Guardian reported, Saar expressed confidence on Monday that "the E.U. would not take any action" against Israel.

Only Spain advocated strongly for a suspension of the association agreement, with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares also demanding an E.U. arms embargo on Israel.

Countries including Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic opposed suspending the association agreement, and Hungary, a staunch ally of Israeli Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu, objected to sanctions on Israeli settlers who have violently attacked Palestinians in the West Bank.

Claudio Francavilla, acting E.U. director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that E.U. ministers had "traded away" an opportunity to hold Israel accountable for its human rights violations "for the illusory promise of a few more trucks."

"Once again, E.U. ministers have failed," said Francavilla.

Callamard called on member states to "now take matters into their own hands and unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law, including a comprehensive embargo on the export of arms and surveillance equipment and related technology, and a total ban on trade with and investment in Israel's illegal settlements in the OPT."

The continued failure to act worsens "the risk of complicity in Israel's actions" and "sends an extremely dangerous message to perpetrators of atrocity crimes that they will not only go unpunished but be rewarded."