![High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Commissioner for the Mediterranean, and representatives of EU member states Dubravka Suica (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (L) hold a joint press conference after the EU-Israel Association Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on February 24, 2025. [Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GettyImages-2201183225-1-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
114 international civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, called on the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, citing its genocide against Palestinians and other violations.
This came in a joint statement issued by the 114 organisations on Monday, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers to review the suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel.
The organisations emphasised that a fair review of the Association Agreement must conclude that Israel has “seriously violated” the human rights clause.
Claudio Francavilla, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s EU Institutions office, explained in a press statement that all attempts at dialogue with Israel have largely failed.
He pointed out that pro-Palestinian protests have continued for months across Europe, and that people cannot ignore the horror, crimes, and brutality they see daily on social media.
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Francavilla said that a review of the Association Agreement will be meaningless if it is not followed by concrete measures, including suspending the trade aspect of the agreement.
He emphasised that Israeli human rights organisations have observed that the rate of punishment for perpetrators of crimes in the West Bank does not exceed 3 per cent, indicating that the Israeli judicial system does not seriously pursue these violations.
The Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel, which entered into force in 2000, constitutes the legal framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation between the two parties.
Article 2 of the agreement stipulates that the partnership is conditional upon “a commitment to human rights and international law.”
Israel has killed and wounded approximately 187,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women during its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.
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