Over 60 organisations call for suspension of EU-Israel association agreement
Smoke and flames billow after Israeli forces struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City, October 7. PHOTO: REUTERS
More than 60 humanitarian organisations and trade unions on Thursday called on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel, as well as to ban trade with illegal settlements and suspend all arms transfers.
A joint letter issued by Amnesty International urged the EU to "adopt the long-overdue measures proposed by [European Commission] President von der Leyen in September 2025, in particular the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement".
It also called for additional steps to comply with international law, including banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and suspending all transfers and transit of arms to Israel.
The joint letter stressed that the EU had already found Israel in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing violations of human rights and democratic principles, and said ongoing actions in Palestine and Lebanon have deepened the breach and caused widespread suffering.
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It further pointed to Israel's death penalty law for Palestinians, describing it as "an egregious violation of the rights to life and fair trial of Palestinians", while underlining that it adds to the "growing body of discriminatory legislation and policies implemented by Israeli authorities against Palestinians".
The letter also highlighted worsening conditions in the occupied territories, including increased settlement activity, displacement and violence in the West Bank by occupiers, as well as mass detentions and reported abuses of Palestinians.
It warned of a continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and growing risks of spillover into Lebanon, raising concerns over broader regional instability and violations of international law.
"These developments come on the heels of decades of toothless EU statements of concern and calls for a 'two-state solution' that have been largely ignored by Israeli authorities, to no consequences," it further said.
Welcoming commitments by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, the organisations urged the bloc to do the same "in line with its longstanding, unanimous condemnation of Israeli settlement policies as illegal and an 'obstacle to a two-state solution' that the EU claims to pursue".
The letter stressed that "no qualified majority" has yet been reached in the Council of the EU to suspend the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, despite repeated calls from member states, Members of the European Parliament, civil society and the European public.
"This failure to act risks rendering the Association Agreement’s human rights clause meaningless in practice, further tarnishes the EU’s credibility and emboldens the sense of impunity fueling Israel’s growing abuses," it said.
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The letter further reiterated the need for the EU and member states to immediately suspend all transfers and transit of arms, munitions, equipment, technology, parts and dual-use goods to Israel. It also called for a coordinated action at the institutional level to prevent such transits.
"This obligation is not discretionary but arises under both EU and international law," it added.
"The patterns documented in this letter are the predictable consequence of decades of impunity: a failure by the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable, and a willingness to allow political considerations to override legal obligations," the letter underscored.
It reaffirmed that measures demanded by the signatory organisations are not just political choices but also legal obligations.
"What remains absent is the political will to act," the letter also said and added: "The people of Palestine and Lebanon deserve action and accountability, not concerns and condolences. The time to act is long overdue."
A day ago, a group of 350 former European ministers, ambassadors, and senior officials urged the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, accusing Tel Aviv of breaching human rights obligations in the Palestinian territories.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the signatories said that, while global attention was diverted, the Israeli government had escalated its 'illegal occupation policy' and human rights violations to an intolerable level.
They said violence had continued despite a nominal ceasefire, warning that planned settlement expansion in the E1 corridor, an area that connects East Jerusalem to Ma'ale Adumim, would effectively split the West Bank and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
Breaking News: EU action is long overdue against Israel.
350+ European Ministers, Ambassadors have called on the EU and the Member States government's to urgently take action against Israel's systematic violations of Palestinians human rights and of the EU-Israel Association… pic.twitter.com/YYZm4ffA4FThey also raised concerns over legislation passed by the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, on March 30, alleging it introduces the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners while exempting Jewish Israelis.
“This abhorrent legislation is redolent of an apartheid state acting without legal restraints,” they said.
The signatories argued that Israel was in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel agreement, which required respect for human rights as a condition of cooperation.
“The current Israeli government violates these core EU principles with respect to Palestinians for whose welfare it remains legally and morally responsible as the occupying power,” it said.
They called on the EU to suspend the agreement fully or partially, halt trade with settlements, suspend military cooperation, and expand sanctions and visa bans on individuals involved in repression.
The statement also accused the EU of inconsistency, comparing its approach to Israel with its response to Russia, saying the disparity has created perceptions of “double standards”.
Since the start of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have killed at least 1,133 Palestinians, wounded about 11,700 others, and led to nearly 22,000 arrests, according to Palestinian figures.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.