Human rights groups ask EU to suspend trade agreement with Israel over violations in Gaza

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Over 200 civil society organizations called on the European Union to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement without delay due to the deadly Israeli war on Gaza and the violation of basic human rights.

The Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM) published an open letter on its website on Tuesday, which was addressed to many EU officials, including President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Council Charles Michel, and the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

More than 200 NGOs across Europe, including Oxfam, called on the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, noting that human rights violations in Gaza “constitute a violation of the 'essential elements' clauses which state that the Agreement is conditional upon the parties’ respect for human rights and democratic principles.”

The groups also said that the "violation of the so-called 'essential elements' clauses enables the EU to terminate or suspend fully or partially the agreements."

Despite all those violations, Israel's economy "continues to enjoy privileged access to the EU market" via this agreement, and the bloc is Israel's primary trade partner," accounting for 28.8% of its trade in goods in 2022," the letter read.

The groups also criticized the international community for "political and moral failure" which resulted in the current developments in Gaza and called on the EU to send a "strong message" by suspending the agreement with Israel.

Israel has waged a deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last October, which killed 1,200 people.

More than 31,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.