‘Devastating moment’: Rights groups slam EU for inaction on Gaza crimes

• Internal EU review identified 38 potential human rights violations by Israel
• Expert Nicola Perugini says inaction ‘reiterates that this is not just Israel’s genocide, but a Euro-Israel genocide’

BRUSSELS

As Israel continued its devastating assault on Gaza and desperate civilians risked their lives to reach food aid, EU foreign ministers gathered on July 15 with a list of 10 potential responses to Israel’s actions. Not one was taken.

To human rights advocates and legal experts, the bloc’s inaction spoke volumes.

“This was a devastating moment for the EU. It was a devastating moment for the people of Palestine, and I think really a devastating moment for international law,” Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s EU Office, told Anadolu.

Ahead of the meeting, EU officials floated a vague “deal” with Israel, suggesting a path to easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But Geddie dismissed it as lacking substance.

“There’s no written agreement. And yet this set up a situation in that Foreign Affairs Council meeting where member states could talk about potential improvement, increased aid into Gaza, and the importance of keeping dialogue open in order to not make a decision,” she said.

Israel accused of 38 human rights violations

A recently commissioned EU review of Israeli actions in Gaza, which was leaked to media, cites evidence of Israel’s “unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians ... the use of starvation as a method of war ... attacks against journalists ... (and) disproportionate force by Israel against Palestinians in the West Bank,” among other crimes.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement ties trade and political cooperation to human rights and democratic principles. However, the report identified 38 possible human rights violations by Israel.

“There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations,” the report concluded.

“Israel is not meeting its human rights, so there’s really only one legal outcome. The one correct outcome of that meeting would have been to suspend the agreement – and really discuss how,” said Geddie.

Despite the presentation of 10 options by the European Commission – from suspending the agreement to an arms embargo or sanctions against hard-line government members – foreign ministers failed to reach consensus on any of them.

Some proposals required unanimity, while others could have proceeded with a qualified majority vote. Neither path was pursued.

“Twenty-one months into a genocide – a well-documented genocide, one that's been live-streamed to us daily – the Commission has not taken sufficient action,” Geddie said. “It’s really too little too late, and it’s led to these ongoing delays and a lack of commitment to the Commission’s role as guardian of the treaties and respecting human rights, and making sure member states are doing the same.”

A group of lawyers from the Association of Jurists for the Respect of International Law has referred the European Commission to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), alleging it has failed to uphold EU law and treaty obligations.

Geddie confirmed that Amnesty International supports the case and expects more NGOs and legal actors to join.

“It’s a really symbolic one. It’s really important ... The question is whether the association agreement is being implemented in line with EU law. The answer is no,” she said.

‘This is a Euro-Israel genocide’

Nicola Perugini, associate professor of international relations at the University of Edinburgh, echoed Geddie’s concerns, calling the outcome of the July 15 meeting “a reiteration of complicity.”

“The EU foreign ministers’ vote reiterates that this is not just Israel’s genocide, but a Euro-Israel genocide. The vote extends Israel’s immunity and impunity by its main global investor: Europe,” he told Anadolu.

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for 32% of Israel's total goods trade in 2024, according to the European Commission.

Perugini accused the bloc of ignoring both international law and its own internal legal findings.

“Europe seems more interested in dismantling the already shaky edifice of international law – allowing (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to travel freely on its territory without executing International Criminal Court arrest warrants – and effectively suspending Europe’s compliance with the Rome Statute,” he said.

Perugini said he believes EU institutions must be held accountable not only at the CJEU but also in the genocide case currently before the International Court of Justice.

“I believe the EU can, and must be, held accountable,” he said.