EU to review cooperation deal with 'Israel' over Gaza violations
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Backed by a strong majority, the EU is set to begin reviewing its cooperation agreement with "Israel" over ongoing human rights violations in Gaza.
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European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of EU defense ministers at the European Council building in Brussels on May 20, 2025. (AP)
The European Union agreed Tuesday to review its cooperation agreement with the Israeli occupation over human rights violations in Gaza, according to the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.
Kallas said the decision came after a “strong majority” of the EU’s 27 member states supported the move during a meeting of foreign ministers, aiming to increase pressure on "Israel" amid the deepening humanitarian crisis.
"What it tells is that the countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable, and what we want is to really help the people, and what we want is to unblock the humanitarian aid so that it will reach the people," she told reporters.
The push to reassess the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs trade and cooperation, has gained momentum since "Israel" resumed its war on Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire.
Kallas criticized "Israel’s" limited aid access, saying the 93 trucks allowed into Gaza on Tuesday were merely “a drop in the ocean” compared to the scale of the suffering.
The Netherlands led the latest push, more than a year after earlier efforts by Spain and Ireland, both vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause, failed to secure consensus. This time, 17 member states called for action under Article 2 of the agreement, which requires respect for human rights.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot declared he had "no doubt" that rights violations were taking place in Gaza, and warned the review could ultimately lead to suspending the deal.
Still, internal divisions remain. While some countries back a harder line on "Israel," others remain staunch allies. In a separate move underscoring those tensions, Hungary blocked a proposal to impose further sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Sweden pushes EU to sanction Israeli ministers over Gaza, West Bank
Earlier on Tuesday, Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenagard said that the nation will work with the EU to impose penalties on some Israeli ministers over "Israel's" treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
"Since we do not see a clear improvement for civilians in Gaza, we need to raise the tone further," Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told AFP, detailing that Sweden will "also push for EU sanctions against individual Israeli ministers."
Stenergard stated that the penalties should target "ministers who are pushing an illegal settlement policy and actively opposing a future two-state solution," with EU negotiations determining which officials would be targeted.
She emphasized that Sweden remains a "friend of Israel," but voiced growing concern over the occupation's actions in Gaza during a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday.
Her remarks came as the UN announced it had received approval to send approximately 100 additional aid trucks into the territory.
"In all of our contacts with the Israeli government, we have long demanded increased humanitarian access and have been very critical of the fact that they have not secured it," Stenergard said.
She also expressed alarm over what she described as the Israeli occupation's escalating rhetoric and actions.
Earlier this month, "Israel’s" security cabinet approved a plan to expand the military offensive in Gaza, with one official describing it as a move toward the "conquest" of the strip and the displacement of its population. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that "Israel will take control of all the territory of the strip.”
In a similar context, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot described the blockade on Gaza as "indiscriminate violence" that has turned the Palestinian enclave into "a dying ground, if not a cemetery."
His remarks come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate under the weight of relentless Israeli bombing and severe restrictions on aid.
