The Netherlands must demand an end to Israel’s human rights violations

The Netherlands must demand an end to Israel’s human rights violations at the meeting on the EU-Israel Association Agreement

On February 24, the long-postponed meeting of the EU-Israel Association Agreement will take place. The cooperation between the EU and Israel will be discussed, including in the areas of trade, politics and science. Organizations PAX, Save The Children, SOMO, The Rights Forum, and Oxfam Novib argue that the Netherlands and the European Union must use their influence next week to demand an end to Israel’s continuous human rights violations and war crimes.

This association agreement, which gives Israel all kinds of trade benefits, claims to have “respect for human rights” as a fundamental principle. In the case of human rights violations, “appropriate measures” must be taken until the obligations in the treaty are met. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner and, therefore, has considerable potential leverage to call Israel to order and enforce respect for human rights. The upcoming meeting is the ideal opportunity to address Israel’s violations and take measures.

It is the first time that the EU and Israel have discussed mutual cooperation since the war on Gaza, in which more than 48,000 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. During the unprecedented spiral of Israeli war violence, UN experts, the International Court of Justice and renowned human rights organizations have repeatedly documented violations of international law by Israel. Furthermore, after months of investigation, Amnesty International has concluded that there is evidence of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders have also endorsed this conclusion based on their own investigations.

In addition, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed in its advisory opinion of July 2024 that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is illegal and violates international law, including the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force and the right of self-determination of the Palestinians. There can, therefore, be no doubt that Israel is acting contrary to the agreements within the association agreement. In recent decades, the EU has suspended dozens of these types of treaties with other countries due to human rights violations, but never with Israel. This double standard is unacceptable.

After 16 months of diplomacy that has been as fruitless as it has been silent, Foreign Minister Veldkamp should use other means to enforce respect for international obligations. The association agreement with Israel offers the ultimate opportunity to do so, and one that should be seized with both hands. Otherwise, the Netherlands will do even more injustice to its self-proclaimed title of “guardian of international law”.