The European Commission has signaled that the current impasse regarding accountability for violence in the West Bank and Gaza stems from a lack of agreement among national capitals. While the Commission has attempted to avoid assigning blame to specific actors, it noted that foreign policy decisions within the bloc require the consensus of all member states.
Addressing MEPs during a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, 8 July, Dubravka Šuica, the EU commissioner responsible for the Mediterranean, stated, “This is not a blame game, but the ball is in the council.” Šuica highlighted that the Commission has kept a proposal to suspend a trade agreement with Israel on the table since last September. This proposal was introduced in response to ongoing settler violence and the broader conflict, which has resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,000 people during the ceasefire period.
“The member states are divided, just to make you aware,” Šuica remarked, expressing hope that a consensus among the 27 European leaders could be reached during the Irish EU presidency. The potential suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement has become a focal point of debate, as the pact identifies respect for human rights and democratic principles as essential components of the bilateral relationship.
Since the Hamas attacks in October 2023, the death toll among Palestinians has exceeded 70,000. Amidst these developments, the United Nations human rights commission has formally declared that Israel has committed genocide. These concerns are further compounded by the persistent rise in settler violence across the occupied Palestinian Territories, fueling the urgent calls from lawmakers for the European Union to take decisive action.
