EU finds 'indications' Israel is breaching key human rights agreement in Gaza

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EU finds 'indications' Israel is breaching key human rights agreement in Gaza

2025-06-24 00:37 Last Updated At：00:41

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says there are ″indications″ that Israel's actions in Gaza are violating human rights obligations in the agreement governing its ties with the EU — but the block was divided Monday over what to do in response.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas presented a review of Israel's compliance with to foreign minsters of the 27-member bloc in Brussels on Monday, leading at least one country to openly propose suspending the agreement.

“There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” according to the review by the EU’s diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press.

The review detailed allegations by the International Court of Justice and agencies of the United Nations that Israel had likely broken international humanitarian law in Gaza on multiple levels by cutting off life-saving food and supplies, targeting journalists, and attacking densely-populated areas with “weapons with wide area effects."

Suspending ties would require a unanimous decision, which is likely impossible to obtain from countries like Austria, Germany and Hungary that tend to back Israel.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday in Brussels that Berlin is against suspension of the agreement.

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.

Kallas said that trade from the parts of the occupied West Bank with “violent settlers” does not "benefit of the trade relationship the beneficial trade relationship that we have between Israel and European Union.”

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.

The EU review “clearly showed that Israel has violated Article 2 of this agreement, which concerns respect for human rights,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. “Consequences will have to be drawn at the next foreign affairs ministers meeting in July,” he said.

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 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.

Like Spain, Ireland is of the view that the Association Agreement should be suspended, Simon Harris, the Irish minister for foreign affairs, said.

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in The Hague contributed to this report.

This version corrects to say the EU-Israel Association Agreement covers all ties, not only trade.

In their words: Survivors and others talk about fatal Swiss Alpine bar fire

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.