Ireland requests EU-'Israel' agreement review over human rights abuse

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Feb 2024 00:31
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Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar cites concerns about potential breaches of human rights clauses by "Israel" as the reason for the review.

From the left, Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic, Slovenian PM Robert Golob, Irish PM Leo Varadkar, Bulgarian PM Nikolai Denkov, and Finnish PM Petteri Orpo talk at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 (AP)

Ireland is engaged in discussions with fellow EU member states that are advocating for a review of the EU-"Israel" Association Agreement. This review is being proposed due to concerns that "Israel" might be violating the human rights clause within the agreement, as stated by Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar during a press briefing in Brussels, on Thursday.

In the same context, it was also noted that a number of EU states also spoke about potentially recognizing a Palestinian state following the end of the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.

"EU-Israeli relations are founded on an agreement which has a human rights clause, and a lot of us believe that Israel may be in breach of it," Varadkar said following the EU summit, adding, "There isn't full agreement, but it's something I called for today, and I called for last December."

Ireland has maintained a strong stance in support of Palestinian rights, and government officials have frequently mentioned the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Varadkar, speaking after the EU summit, noted the presence of several "like-minded countries" among EU member states.

"Another thing we are talking about is recognition. That a number of EU states acting together to recognise Palestine could allow a more equal negotiation to happen after the war has ended in Gaza in and around a two-state solution," he said.

EU Foreign Ministers baffled by Israeli artificial Island proposal

In a recent meeting of EU foreign ministers, "Israel's" Foreign Minister Israel Katz faced disappointment as he suggested relocating Palestinians to an artificial island off Gaza.

The proposal, originally presented in 2017 during Katz's tenure as transport minister, failed to gain traction among the ministers, who continued discussions on the so-called Middle East "peace plan".

Sources reveal that the ministers were visibly dismayed by Katz's absurd suggestion, with one stating, "Ministers ignored it and went ahead with what they were there to talk about. Nobody engaged with it."