Schism in EU
Spain, Ireland call for ‘urgent review’ of EU-Israel agreement over human rights in Gaza
Spain and Ireland have asked the European Commission to “undertake an urgent review” of the EU-Israel agreement over worsening human rights situation in Gaza in the wake of Israel’s onslaught on the Palestinian territory.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, both countries have expressed deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Gaza and seeking an “urgent review” of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations under its trade agreement with the European Union.
The letter from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also asked that the commission propose “appropriate measures” that could be taken if Israel is found to be in breach of the obligations in the EU/Israel Association Agreement.
Rafah ground invasion
The request from the European Commission comes amid fears that Israel will launch a ground invasion of Rafah where more than a million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter from the ongoing war.
The Irish Times reported earlier this month that Ireland was seeking the support of fellow EU member states for a review of the trade agreement with Israel.
The two leaders wrote that they are “deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation in Israel and in Gaza, especially the impact the ongoing conflict is having on innocent Palestinians, especially children and women.”
They added that the expanded Israeli military operation in the Rafah area poses a grave and imminent threat that the international community must urgently confront.
When several Western countries froze their funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after Israel last month claimed that 12 staff members of the UN organization were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack, Spain and Portugal decided to go in the opposite direction. They responded with promises to raise their funding.
For years, but especially in the past few months, they have been part of a grouping of countries across Europe that have consistently sought to strike a different note when it comes to conflict in the Middle East. Others include Ireland, which has called for a review of the EU’s trade ties with Israel, and Slovenia, which said it expected Israel to swiftly implement provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in a case looking into allegations of genocide.
‘Gazans staring death in face’
A top UN official declared that “a million Gazans are staring death in the face” and warned catastrophic human consequences could occur should Israel press on with an assault on the city of Rafah.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said the Palestinian people have been subjected to an “assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope’ following months of incessant bombing by Israeli forces.
But now he believes an Israeli invasion of Rafah – a town in the southern Gaza Strip, where huge numbers of Palestinians have fled to escape Tel-Aviv’s bombing campaigns – would “leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door” and lead to a “slaughter”.
Since October 7, Israel’s strikes on Gaza have killed more than 28,000 people, mostly women and children.