EU leaders should be informed about Israel’s compliance with the agreement

Next week, the EU’s foreign minister, Kaja Kallas, will present the results of the investigation into whether Israel is violating its part of the so-called association agreement with the EU to the European foreign ministers.

She also intends to present the results to the European heads of state when they meet in Brussels for the EU summit next week.

Kallas announced this in a speech to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

Additionally, she states that more sanctions against Israeli settlers and organizations and entities that support them may be on the way.

“We have already sanctioned nine individuals and five entities responsible for serious human rights violations against Palestinians.

There are ongoing discussions about further sanctions against extremist settlers and against entities and organizations that support them,” says Kallas.

Specifically, it is article two of the association agreement that is currently under investigation.

This article states that both parties to the agreement are obligated to respect human rights.

The association agreement promotes trade between the two parties.

“When the investigation started, Gaza’s access to humanitarian aid had been blocked for 11 weeks,” says Kallas.

The investigation comes in the wake of a majority of EU foreign ministers previously calling for a reassessment of the agreement.

The criticism has been that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

Kaja Kallas emphasizes that it is up to the member states to decide what the next step should be.

“We are moving as a union,” she says.

According to the EU’s foreign minister, the EU has three options to pressure Israel.

One is the association agreement, the second is to expand sanctions, and the third is to continue sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“I have said this many times before – also to my Israeli counterpart: The answer to the threat that humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon is not to block the aid.

Instead, the region should be flooded with so much humanitarian aid that it cannot be misused,” says Kallas.