Spain, Ireland urge EU to reexamine ties with Israel

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain and Ireland have formally requested that the European Commission urgently review its relationship with Israel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday, amid Israel’s looming ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

“The EU’s commitment to human rights and dignity can have no exceptions,” Sanchez posted on X, highlighting the “critical situation in Rafah.”

The Irish Times and El Pais reported that Sanchez and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar addressed a formal letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In the letter, seen by the Spanish and Irish dailies, the leaders urge the commission to “undertake an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship.”

It added that if the commission considers there to be a human rights breach, then it should propose “appropriate measures” for the European Council to consider.

In the letter, the leaders said they were “deeply concerned” about the situation in Gaza, adding: “The expanded Israeli military operation in the Rafah area poses a grave and imminent threat that the international community must urgently confront.”

They added that there is “widespread concern” about Israel breaching international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights laws, and emphasized the binding measures and assessment of the International Court of Justice.

“The horrendous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas and other armed groups do not, and cannot, justify any breaches in IHL, in the military response, with the resulting consequences for the civilian population of Gaza,” they write.

The leaders emphasized that 90% of the Gaza population faces “acute food insecurity,” and that there is a “serious risk of famine,” They also highlighted the deaths of almost 28,000 Palestinians, the displacement of 1.9 million people and the “wholesale destruction of homes and extensive damage to vital civilian infrastructure.”

The EU should also continue to support the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the Spanish and Irish leaders said.

They added that the “EU has a responsibility to take action” to establish a “two-state solution,” which they say is “the only way to make sure this cycle of violence does not repeat itself.”

According to El Pais, this is the first time a revision to the EU/Israel Association Agreement has been proposed since it took effect in 2000.