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EU finds ‘indications' Israel is breaching their trade deal with its actions in Gaza

EU finds ‘indications' Israel is breaching their trade deal with its actions in Gaza

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says there are ″indications″ that Israel's actions in Gaza are violating human rights obligations in its trade agreement with the EU, according to its findings seen by The Associated Press.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas presented the review to foreign minsters of the 27-member bloc in Brussels on Monday, leading at least one country to openly propose suspending the trade deal.
'There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Associated Agreement,' according to the review by the EU's diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service.
A third of Israel's imports come from the EU, valued at $27 billion annually, while Europe imports less than 1% of its goods from Israel, according to the EU Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security.
Suspending trade ties would require a unanimous decision, which is likely impossible to obtain from countries like Austria, Germany and Hungary that tend to back Israel.
Other actions — such as ending visa-free travel to Europe for Israelis, sanctioning Israeli settlers in the West Bank or halting academic partnerships — could be pushed if a 'qualified majority' — 15 of the 27 nations representing at least 65% of the population of the EU — agree.
Countries like the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain have been vocal in their support for the Palestinians in Gaza as Israel battles Hamas.
'When all the focus is on Iran and the escalation regarding Iran, we should not forget about Gaza,' said Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp, who led the charge for the review.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostages. About 56,000 Palestinians have since been killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and little relatively aid has entered since Israel ended the latest ceasefire in March.
Outrage over Israel's actions in Gaza has grown in Europe as images of suffering Palestinians have driven protests in London, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid and Amsterdam.
Spain has canceled arms deals with Israel and called for an arms embargo.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno on Monday called for suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement.
'The time for words and declarations is behind. We had enough time,' he told the meeting. 'And at the same time, Palestinians in Gaza have no more time to lose. Every day, babies, women, men are being killed. This is the time for action.'
Manuel Albares also called for an embargo on EU countries selling weapons to Israel and for the widening of individual sanctions on anyone undermining the proposed two-state solution.
'Europe must show courage,' he told journalists.
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Associated Press writers Lorne Cooke in The Hague and Ella Joyner in Brussels contributed to this report.
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US and Mexico sign accord to combat Tijuana River sewage flowing across the border
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Winnipeg Free Press

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  • Winnipeg Free Press

US and Mexico sign accord to combat Tijuana River sewage flowing across the border

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The United States and Mexico have signed an agreement outlining specific steps and a new timetable to clean up the longstanding problem of the Tijuana River pouring sewage across the border and polluting California beaches, officials from both countries announced Thursday. Billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana have polluted the Pacific Ocean off neighboring Southern California, closing beaches and sickening Navy SEALs who train in the water. That's despite multiple efforts and millions of dollars that have been poured into addressing the problem over decades, including under the first Trump administration. 'There is a great commitment by the two countries to strengthen cooperation,' Mexico's Environmental Secretary Alicia Bárcena said Thursday after meeting with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in Mexico City for the signing of the memorandum of understanding. The accord comes three months after Zeldin flew to San Diego to meet with Mexican officials and visit the border. 'I smelled what a lot of residents in the community lived through and have to deal with,' he said Thursday. 'I saw the degradation of the Tijuana River valley. I heard about the beaches that were closed. I met with the Navy Seals, who have had their training impacted. It was a powerful visit all around for me.' Under the agreement, Mexico will complete its allocation of $93 million toward infrastructure projects, including adhering to a specific schedule for priority projects spanning through 2027. The 120-mile-long (195-kilometer) Tijuana River runs near the coast in Mexico and crosses into Southern California, where it flows through Navy-owned land and out to the Pacific. As Tijuana's wastewater treatment plants have aged, its population and industry — including the manufacturing plants, known as maquiladoras that make U.S. goods — have boomed. At the same time, there has been an increase in the amount of toxins that have made their way into the river and into San Diego County — since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons of raw sewage laden with industrial chemicals and trash. The pollution has sickened not only swimmers, surfers and lifeguards but also schoolchildren, Border Patrol agents and others who do not even go in the water. Scientists say the sewage is vaporized when it foams up and enters the air people breathe. California beaches near the border have been closed more often than not over the past four years. 'The communities along the Tijuana River have suffered this public health crisis for far too long,' said Kristan Culbert, associate director of California river conservation at American Rivers, in a statement Thursday. Since 2020, more than $653 million in funds have been allocated to address the issue, but the crisis has continued largely because of delays by the Mexican government, Zeldin has said. Zeldin said this agreement factors in 'population growth, operation and maintenance costs, and other variables that would make this solution durable and long term.' He praised the new administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last October, for its willingness to address the issue. Sheinbaum said earlier Thursday that her government would expand a wastewater treatment plant that would reduce the contamination reaching the coast. 'There are other actions that were signed that we have to complete, that we're going to get done in the next year for the entire Tijuana sanitation system, for the entire metropolitan Tijuana area,' she said. Sheinbaum said the United States also has to make investments in the binational problem. Referring to another agreement to send more water to the U.S. to reduce Mexico's water debt in the Rio Grande, Sheinbaum said the Tijuana River agreement 'is a good example of how when our technical teams sit down, they can resolve a problem that seemed unsolvable.' The U.S. has agreed to complete the expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant next month. The agreement also stipulates that Mexico this year divert 10 million gallons per day of treated sewage away from the shore. _____ Associated Press writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

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