Brussels (UNA-WAFA) – 114 international civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, called on the European Union to suspend its partnership agreement with Israel, citing its genocide against Palestinians and other violations.
This came in a joint statement issued by the 114 organizations on Monday, ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers to review the suspension of the partnership agreement with Israel.
The organizations stressed 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 European Union 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 been ongoing for months across Europe, and that people cannot ignore the horror, crimes, and brutality they see daily on social media.
Francavilla said that reviewing the partnership agreement would be meaningless if it was not followed by actual measures, including suspending the commercial aspect of the agreement.
He emphasized that Israeli human rights organizations have observed that the rate of punishment for perpetrators of crimes in the West Bank does not exceed 3%, indicating that the Israeli judicial system does not seriously pursue these violations.
The European Union-Israel Association Agreement, which entered into force in 2000, provides the legal framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation between the two parties.
Article 2 of the agreement stipulates that the partnership is conditional on “commitment to human rights and international law.”
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