Press Releases

18/7/2025

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Right and the Global Palestinian Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons’ Network (GPRN) applaud the Hague Group’s call for complete arms embargoes against the Israeli regime and condemn the European Union’s continuous and unreasonable procrastination and inaction.

While the state members of the Hague Group move to ensure the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are realized through practical measures, the European Union (EU) has taken no measures to hold the Israeli regime accountable. Instead, the EU continues choosing to evade its responsibilities and pro-long the Israeli genocide by having arranged a deal with the Israeli regime “to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.” This new humanitarian agreement, serves as distraction and silencing measures in an attempt to gain acquiesce from European civil society which has made repeated calls for suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement - all of which have been ignored. Neither of these actions absolve the EU from its obligations to end its complicity and impose sanctions on the Israeli regime.

On 15-16 July, the Hague Group, Colombia, and South Africa convened a two-day  “emergency summit” in Bogotá “to end Israel’s impunity and sever the cords of complicity,” according to Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the executive secretary of the Hague Group. The outcome was a list of 10 practical measures for states to impose against the Israeli regime; and at the top of the list is arms embargoes.

Meanwhile, at the Foreign Affairs Council, held in Belgium on 15 July, the EU failed once again to impose unilateral measures in the form of severing the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The High Representative/Vice-President of the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, merely affirmed that individual EU member states could impose sanctions, and even provided a list. However, the EU as a bloc does not intend on implementing any of those measures which include severing the EU-Israel Association Agreement – despite repeated calls from European civil society and some member states.

Instead, on 10 July 2025, Kallas announced a new deal with the Israeli regime to increase the quantity and regularity of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip; giving the Israeli regime two more weeks to show compliance with the agreement. Effectively, the EU is greenlighting the continuation of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip and forcible transfer and colonization in the West Bank. The “humanitarian” deal is a blatant attempt by the EU not only to avoid its obligations to impose sanctions, including via severing of economic ties with the Israeli regime, but also an attempt to whitewash the Israeli regime and both mislead and appease European civil society.  

Additionally, the recently brokered agreement to partner with the Israeli regime on humanitarian aid undermines the UN-led system and deliberately circumvents UNRWA. 

The EU is now facing a lawsuit for its “failure to act” to stop and prevent genocide.  The lawsuit comes on the heels of a leaked EU report confirming the EU’s knowledge and recognition of Israeli crimes committed in Palestine.

The time for evading its obligations, buying more time for the genocide, ignoring the demands of civil society, and acquiescence for the lack of sanctions have long passed. The only path to true accountability, an end to the genocide and the re-instatement of the UN-led humanitarian aid system is to cease all diplomatic, economic and military relations and support to the Israeli regime. This includes, at the very least, the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and adhering to the measures called for by the Hague Group.