logo
Exclusive: Israel blasts EU report claiming Gaza human rights breaches

Exclusive: Israel blasts EU report claiming Gaza human rights breaches

Euronews22-06-2025
Israel has blasted the EU-Israel Association Agreement (EUSR) review, saying 'this report and its conclusions should not be taken seriously or used as a basis for any future actions or conversations', in a letter from the country's foreign ministry to the EU seen by Euronews on Sunday.
'Decency would dictate addressing the report's shortcomings and dismissing it in its entirety,' the letter, sent to the Commission and External Action Service, concludes.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement review released on Friday said that Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip indicate a breach of the human rights provisions contained in its Association Agreement with the European Union. The issue is set to be considered by foreign ministers meeting on Monday.
Citing a collection of findings by independent international organisations, the highly anticipated review from the bloc's diplomatic service said it found "indications" that Israel breached its human rights obligations with actions in Gaza.
The breach stems from Israel's offensive on Gaza and the stringent conditions applied to the deliveries of humanitarian aid, which have stoked fears of widespread famine among Palestinians living in the densely populated enclave.
In the letter seen by Euronews, the Israeli foreign ministry expressed its 'astonishment' that the report disregarded 'our detailed response to the questions submitted to us'.
The letter starts with a presentation of what it calls 'the strategic reality Israel is facing', detailing how it is 'fighting a war on seven fronts.'
'It is against this backdrop – Israel's combat with a host of brutal enemies - that the EUSR was tasked with doing a 'rush job', compiling a biased and extremely one-sided summary of many anti-Israeli voices and documents into a so-called 'honest report' for the Member States of the EU,' the letter states.
The Israeli foreign ministry letter focuses on what it calls 'two failures' of the EUSR report, claiming that it 'fails to take into account the context' and 'crucial facts' the October 7 attacks followed by 'the ongoing attempt by Iran and its proxies to bring about the annihilation of the Jewish state'.
'A report that opens with an admission that it lacks the ability to verify its own statements, or even the mandate to address the numerous terror attacks by Palestinians against Israel, cannot be taken seriously,' the letter says.
The letter claims that the EUSR report 'fails morally' by neglecting to address any damage inflicted on Israeli civilians' by Hamas' control of the Gaza strip and its actions against Israelis, including what it calls 'the proven complicity of UN bodies such as UNRWA.'
'The report aims to deny Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism. It does not cite any of the many positive actions undertaken by Israel in the humanitarian field and neglects to mention the continuous refusal by Hamas of a US-brokered hostage deal (the 'Witkoff Proposal') which Israel has agreed to,' the letter says.
Secondly, the Israeli foreign ministry letter claims that the EUSR report also 'fails methodologically'.
No opportunity to defend itself, Israel claims
'Israel was not given an opportunity to defend itself against the extreme accusations mounted on it. Regretfully, even a person facing dismissal from a job, receives more leeway to state his or her case, than the complete disregard the EUSR has shown toward the objective facts and evidence of the State of Israel," the letter claims.
The EUSR did not adhere to due process, it alleges, choosing not to engage Israel in dialogue over the report. The EUSR also did not allow Israeli information to be included in the report; and in fact, even when Israel thoroughly detailed its position in communication– offering detailed answers on several topics - the information presented was neither added nor addressed in the report,' the letter states.
The letter insists on 'Israel's Compliance with International Law', and claims that 'a simple dialogue with Israeli authorities could have made these facts clear. Israel is a democratic state abiding by IHL and international law, while fighting to survive in a region void of democracy and full of terrorism and radicalism. Its actions should be judged fairly and honestly, a process at which the report in question has failed.'
'Throughout the war against Hamas, Israel has facilitated the transfer of large quantities of humanitarian aid into Gaza, even under fire,' the letter says in response to the EUSR report, which speaks about the blockade of humanitarian assistance, military strikes against hospitals, the forced displacement of the Palestinian population, mass arrests, arbitrary detentions, the expansion of settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the Occupied Territories, and the violence committed by settlers.
According to the EUSR report, the violations are described as numerous and serious.
The internal review exercise was launched last month at the request of 17 countries, led by the Netherlands, to determine whether Israel was still complying with Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which states bilateral relations "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this agreement".
The Israeli foreign ministry response concludes that the EUSR report 'is absurd and reflects an unprecedented process directed at a democratic state in the midst of war,' and that it 'completely ignores the circumstances, as well as the substantive comments and responses provided by Israel.'
The stern response by Israel's foreign ministry appears to echo the statements made by Israel's ambassador to the EU and NATO Haim Regev, on Thursday 19 June.
In an interview with Euronews, ambassador Regev was clear and firm about his government's current interactions with the European Union on the crisis with Iran and about Israel's actions in Gaza, saying 'we hear different tones, but at the end of the road we see and we feel the support.'
The Israeli government has 'a continuous and intensive interaction' with the top EU institutions in Brussels, but 'of course it is complicated when it comes to have one position in the Union composed of 27 member states,' the Israeli diplomat said.
'There is a war right now and Israel is actually leading this war against Iran, that this is the war also for the benefit, for the long run of Europe. So this is not the time right now to examine or to push things or to try to put obstacles in the Israel-EU relations," Regev concluded.
The Commission and External Action Service have been approached for comment.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israeli court suspends move to dismiss AG, vocal critic of Netanyahu
Israeli court suspends move to dismiss AG, vocal critic of Netanyahu

LeMonde

timean hour ago

  • LeMonde

Israeli court suspends move to dismiss AG, vocal critic of Netanyahu

The Israeli cabinet voted unanimously on Monday, August 4, to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, only for a court to immediately suspend the move. Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the cabinet's decision and addressed a letter to Baharav-Miara saying she "should not try to impose herself on a government that has no trust in her and cannot work with her effectively". Immediately after the decision, however, opposition party Yesh Atid and activist groups filed urgent petitions to Israel's High Court of Justice seeking to halt the dismissal. In response, the court issued an injunction suspending the decision and preventing the government from appointing a substitute. It announced it would hear further petitions against the sacking in the following 30 days. Baharav-Miara has been at loggerheads with the government since it took office, challenging the legality of some of Netanyahu's decisions, most recently his attempt in May to fire the head of the Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar. Bar's agency has been conducting an investigation into illicit payments from Qatar to some of Netanyahu's close aides, a case known in the Israeli press as "Qatargate". His firing has been viewed as a political move.

EU diplomats confirm they won't yet sanction Israel on Gaza
EU diplomats confirm they won't yet sanction Israel on Gaza

Euronews

time5 hours ago

  • Euronews

EU diplomats confirm they won't yet sanction Israel on Gaza

EU diplomats on Monday failed to agree once again on a partial suspension of Israel from the Horizon Europe fund in response to the war in Gaza, several diplomats said. Gathered online for their regular Mashreq/Maghreb Working Party and despite mounting pressure on Israel over the hunger crisis in Gaza, the 27 EU diplomats still couldn't reach any qualified majority on a European Commission proposal to cut Israel from partial access to the EU's €95 billion Horizon Europe research fund. 'The situation has not changed,' one EU diplomat said, referring to a formal meeting of EU ambassadors last week which also failed to agree to the Commission's proposal. The diplomat said the issue was now in the hands of the EU's foreign affairs ministers, who will meet informally on 29 August. With Israel facing global criticism over allowing starvation in the besieged strip and talks between Hamas and Israel at an impasse, the proposal itself would be a largely symbolic gesture. Israel would lose access to €200 millions' worth of future grants and investments in Horizon's European Investment Council (EIC) which specialises in so-called disruptive technologies. Commission officials say it would not affect support for fundamental or collaborative research. But even for a minimal sanction, there was no agreement among Europeans on Monday. Some EU countries have preferred to condemn Israel through individual initiatives like France's recognition of Palestine. The diplomat said support from the big countries like Germany or Italy, which is essential for a qualified majority vote to pass, was still lacking on Monday. Germany and Italy are part of those who 'prefer that dialogue with Israel continues', he said, while France, Spain and Ireland support the Commission proposal. Others including Romania and Finland 'are still examining' the text, he said. 'The refusal of certain member states to take even this smallest possible step to pressure Israel, while civilians continue to be killed and starved in Gaza, is absolutely incriminating,' said Martin Konecny, who heads the European Middle East Project in Brussels. Monday's meeting also took place a day after videos showing two Israeli hostages in Gaza appearing emaciated and distressed were released, sparking outrage among western leaders.

Tariffs: EU Commission to suspend retaliation by another six months
Tariffs: EU Commission to suspend retaliation by another six months

Euronews

time5 hours ago

  • Euronews

Tariffs: EU Commission to suspend retaliation by another six months

The European Commission will suspend on Tuesday a package of trade countermeasures targeting €93 billions' worth of American goods which was scheduled to take effect on 7 August, as it continues to negotiate a joint statement formalising the agreement struck by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump on 27 July. 'The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July,' EU spokesperson Olof Gill said, adding: 'With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by six months the EU's countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.' In line with the agreement reached, the US reduced its tariff rate to 15% last Thursday. Gill said the step gained the EU immediate tariff relief, 'a first important foundation is laid for restoring clarity to EU companies exporting to the US". The trade dispute is not over However the trade dispute between the EU and the US is not over, as both sides still need to negotiate certain points of the agreement that have led to differing interpretations. Furthermore, the US Executive Order of July 31 does not provide relief to the EU automotive industry as expected (it remains subject to 25% tariffs), nor does it exempt strategic sectors such as aircraft. As negotiations continue, the Commission should postpone through urgency procedure the retaliation package it adopted against the US tariffs. It consists in two lists of products that were worth respectively €21 billion and €72 billion and were merged on 24 July after EU member states adopted them, targeting US products such as soyabean, cars, aircraft and Bourbon Whiskey.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store