Ireland has joined Spain and Slovenia in formally calling for the EU to take action against Israel over a new law that would impose a mandatory death sentence on Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis.
In a joint letter, seen by RTÉ News, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has joined her Spanish and Slovene counterparts in urging the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to raise the issue at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
Minister McEntee claimed that repeated entreaties to Israel to "fully comply with its international and moral obligations" have been ignored.
On 30 March, the Knesset approved a law allowing military courts to impose the death penalty on Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank convicted of fatal terrorist attacks.
The joint letter refers to this issue, and other Israeli actions, and calls on Ms Kallas to raise the EU-Israel Association Agreement at Tuesday’s meeting.
"The latest example is the approval of the death penalty by the Israeli Parliament," the letter states.
"[Which is] not only a grave violation of fundamental human rights, but also a step backwards in Israel’s commitment to democratic principles, as underlined by your 31 March statement, and therefore a violation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Foreign Ministers of Ireland, Slovenia and Spain, have written to HRVP @kajakallas on the urgent situation in the Middle East.
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) April 18, 2026
Read full letter here: https://t.co/w7KYUVdVG1 pic.twitter.com/UlEXV7q5CJ
"The bill passed by the Israeli Parliament constitutes an additional step in the systematic persecution, oppression, violence and discrimination exerted against the Palestinian population."
The letter is co-signed by the Spanish and Slovene foreign ministers, José Manuel Albares and Tanja Fajon respectively.
The Knesset law, which has been subject to a court challenge, makes death by hanging the default sentence for such deadly attacks, requiring execution within 90 days of sentencing.
The letter states: "In such a grave situation, we call on the European Union to uphold its moral and political responsibility, and to defend the very core values that have underpinned the European project since its foundation.
"Respect for human rights must remain a fundamental pillar and guiding principle of all our actions and of all our relationships with our partners. By principled coherence and for the sake of its own credibility, the European Union can no longer remain silent or inactive in the face of such breaches."
In a review of Israel’s conduct of the Gaza War in 2025, the EU found that Israel was "likely" in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which commits both sides to human rights obligations and international law.
The joint letter claims that Israel’s recent actions, including the attack on Lebanon, "further aggravate an already critical situation".
It states: "Conditions in Gaza are unbearable, marked by continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement and the clearly insufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
"The situation in the West Bank is rapidly deteriorating, with escalating violence against Palestinians: radical settlers are acting with absolute impunity, and alongside ongoing military operations by the Israel Defence Forces, are resulting in the intolerable deaths of innocent civilians."
It added: "Statements by extremist ministers of the Israeli government are inciting dangerous levels of violence. At the same time, recurrent attacks against religious freedom and its exercise by Muslims and Christians are challenging the traditional status quo of the Holy Land.
"These developments are causing unacceptable human suffering, undermining the implementation of the two-State solution and threatening the viability of the Palestinian state."
Separately, this week some 390 former EU ambassadors and senior officials jointly called on the EU to suspend the Association Agreement in whole or in part, to ban trade with illegal Jewish settlements, halt trade in military goods with Israel, suspend Israel’s engagement in EU programmes and to expand the list of sanctioned individuals and visa bans to all those implicated in the repression of Palestinians and violations of international law.
In a joint statement, they said: "The EU’s failure in both July and September 2025 to enact even a modest package of measures against Israel’s conduct in Gaza - currently being litigated as possible genocide in the International Court of Justice - is perceived internationally as the practice of double standards by the EU.
"Partners have observed that while Russia is rightly sanctioned no action is taken in response to Israeli government actions in Palestine and beyond.
"Meanwhile, Palestinians remain under sustained assault by an Israeli government determined to marginalise them and render their lives intolerable, the ultimate goal being to force them out from their lands."
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