Ireland has joined eight other member states in asking the European Commission to examine how goods produced in illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories "can be brought into line with international law."
The letter was co-signed with Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden
In a social media post, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said: "This follows the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which clearly states that third countries must refrain from any trade or investment that helps sustain an illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
He added: "Upholding international law is a shared responsibility. In a rules-based international order, legal clarity must guide political choices.
"A united European approach can help ensure that our policies reflect our values."
The move appears to align with the Irish Government's view that the ICJ opinion provides a legal impetus for the Occupied Territories Bill, and that the opinion supersedes the EU’s exclusive competence on trade with third countries.
The EU does not ban goods from Israeli settlements but they must be labelled as such, and they do not qualify for preferential tariffs.
Review expected to find Israel violated trade agreement with EU
An eagerly awaited review of the EU-Israel trade agreement is expected to find that Israel has violated the agreement's human rights and international law clauses in the conduct of its war in Gaza, RTÉ News understands.
The review will be circulated to member states tomorrow, with EU foreign ministers taking the issue up at their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who commissioned the review following a request by the Dutch government, will also brief EU leaders on its contents when they gather for a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Despite the findings, member states are, for the time being, not expected to immediately formally agree to sanctions against Israel.
Diplomats say they are more likely to revisit the issue at July’s meeting of foreign ministers.
It is understood national capitals are loath to begin a highly divisive debate on possible trade sanctions against Israel, both at Monday's meeting of foreign ministers, and at next week's summit of EU leaders.
Sources have said that maintaining EU unity is preferable, with the hope that Israel would massively increase humanitarian support for Gaza in order to avoid the EU moving towards some kind of punitive measure in July.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement governs trade, political contacts, cultural and educational exchanges and R&D collaboration between both sides.
Article 2 of the Agreement binds both sides to human rights and international humanitarian law.
Ireland and Spain launched a joint bid last year for a review of the Agreement on the basis that Israel was allegedly in breach of Article 2.
While former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell did commission a report last year into Israel’s actions in Gaza, there was no consensus at EU level to take further action, given the strong opposition to any sanction of Israel by Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
However, after Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade on Gaza and expanded its military operations after the ceasefire collapsed in March, a fresh bid was launched by the Dutch government, leading to a majority in favour of a review at a meeting of EU foreign ministers last month.
Ms Kallas then ordered the EU's diplomatic service, the EEAS, to carry out the review.
She told the European Parliament yesterday: "Israel has a right to self-defence. But what we see in practice from Israel goes beyond self-defence. We have made this very clear in recent weeks.
"Blocking food and medicine for Palestinians trapped in Gaza doesn’t protect Israel. By-passing UN aid deliveries doesn’t help the people. It undermines decades of humanitarian principles. And the humanitarian situation is still deteriorating."
Human rights organisations call on EU to suspend Israel trade
Over 100 international human rights and humanitarian organisations, as well as trade unions, have jointly called on the EU to suspend elements of its trade association with Israel.
The signatories of the joint statement - published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) - include ActionAid Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Oxfam Ireland.
The statement, signed by 113 organisations, called on the EU to "ensure that the ongoing review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement be thorough, comprehensive, and credible.
"Article 2 establishes that respect for human rights and democratic principles constitutes an 'essential element’ of the agreement.
"Amid overwhelming evidence of Israel’s atrocity crimes and other egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a credible review can only reach one conclusion: that Israel is in severe non-compliance with Article 2."
The statement calls on the European Commission and all member states to support "meaningful and concrete measures, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, at least in part."
'Appalled'
The signatories say they are "appalled" that it took the EU so long to launch the review, despite an initial request by Spain and Ireland in February 2024.
The statement pointed to international court rulings, arrest warrants issued by International Criminal Court, and numerous reports by UN bodies, independent experts, prominent NGOs and scholars which "[exposed] Israel’s very serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the Occupied Territories, including war crimes, crimes against humanity - including forced displacement, apartheid and extermination - and genocide."
South Africa has taken a case to the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is responsible for genocide in the conduct of its war in Gaza. The case is ongoing.
The joint statement says that despite similar findings being presented to EU foreign ministers in November 2024, the only action taken was a convening of the EU-Israel Association Council in February.
Despite ministers at that meeting calling for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid at scale, full respect for international humanitarian law and a halting of Israel’s illegal settlement policy, "Israeli authorities blatantly did the exact opposite of all that, [with] once again to no consequence for EU-Israel bilateral relations – until now."
The statement adds that there were three separate binding rulings issued by the ICJ following Israel’s decision to blockade humanitarian aid from entering Gaza which called on the government to allow the unhindered access of aid.
"As parties to the Genocide Convention, all EU member states have the obligation to ‘employ all means reasonably available to them’ to prevent a genocide," the statement said.
"That obligation arises not when a definitive judicial determination is made, but as soon as a state learns, or should normally have learned, of a serious risk that genocide may be committed."
ICJ ruling on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is binding on EU, experts say
An independent legal panel has held that a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is binding on EU institutions and member states.
The ruling, which took the form of an advisory opinion, was issued by the ICJ in July last year.
The court found that Israel's occupation was unlawful and that it should desist from creating new settlements, paying reparations to Palestinians who had lost land and property.
The opinion held that all states were under an obligation not to recognise the occupation as legal nor to "render aid or assistance" towards maintaining Israel’s control of the occupied territories.
The EU has disputed the notion that the advisory ruling is binding on member states or EU institutions.
However, a panel of international legal experts has contested this interpretation.
In an expert opinion, the lawyers held that "breaches ascertained by the Court have generated international legal obligations that are binding not only on EU Member States, but also on the EU and its institutions.
"The EU must comply with all its international legal obligations in the exercise of its functions and powers; and the EU is bound by rules of general international law, including universally accepted customary international law, which is binding upon the EU institutions.
"EU law must also be interpreted consistently with relevant rules of international law, in particular those of a peremptory nature."
The legal opinion was led by Gleider Hernández, Professor of Public International Law at KU Leuven university in Belgium, and Ramses A Wessel, Professor of European Law at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
The opinion was sought by five cross party MEPs, including Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews.
The experts said that "the gravity, intensity, and scope of these violations of international law led the [ICJ] to recognise that third parties are under specific legal obligations to cooperate towards bringing Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT to an end, and not to recognise its illegal effects, and to abstain from any aid and assistance in respect of Israel’s wrongful acts."
The ICJ advisory opinion, they said, required EU member states to abstain from any treaty relations with Israel where it "purports to act on behalf of, or in relation to, the OPT; to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the OPT or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory; to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation."
The legal experts also said that the EU should take account of the ICJ opinion as it continues its review of Israel’s compliance with the human rights clause in the EU Israel Association Agreement.
"These findings justify the invocation of Article 2 and the adoption of appropriate responsive measures," the experts say. "These measures could include suspending the Agreement in part or in full, given the serious violations of peremptory norms of international law by Israel identified in the Advisory Opinion."
Following the publication of the expert legal opinion, Mr Andrews said: "The EU must significantly tighten its rules for ongoing funding of Israeli companies and institutions through the research cooperation programme Horizon Europe and the European Investment Bank, in order to meet the obligations identified by the Court, and potentially suspend such payments altogether.
"Arms exports licences must be reassessed in light of armed violence committed against Palestinians by Israel settlers and the Israel security forces as identified by the Court.
"The EU-Israel trade agreement is vital to the Israeli economy. Monday is the time for the EU, finally, to act."
