While foreign ministers discuss Gaza and the West Bank, national governments cannot hide behind the EU's paralysis.
On 13 July, EU foreign ministers will meet again in Brussels at the Foreign Affairs Council. The agenda will include an „exchange of views on Gaza and the West Bank”, which is expected to touch on trade in goods from settlements, the EU-Israel Association Agreement, possible sanctions against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and proposals to restrict – but not ban – goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
If we go by previous efforts, the July meeting will follow a familiar pattern: hesitation, euphemisms, and no substantive steps to hold Israel accountable. The declared obstacle will likely be the „lack of consensus.” In practice, this phrase has become the bloc’s favorite way to cover up its collective inaction.
Germany and Italy, supported by several Eastern European states, have consistently blocked substantive responses to Israel’s violations. Other member states, meanwhile, have largely been paralyzed, shifting blame between national governments and EU institutions rather than taking decisive action.
Yet the EU and its member states continue to use the language of international law while refusing to apply it when it comes to Israel. The gap between principles and practice, rhetoric and action, is no longer a diplomatic inconsistency. It has become politics.
This is becoming increasingly difficult to justify and hide.
A leaked legal memo from 2017 said the EU had already been informed that there was a legal basis for suspending the Association Agreement, the political and trade framework governing the bloc’s relations with Israel. Another investigation found that Israel had damaged or destroyed more than €150 million ($172 million) worth of EU-funded infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank without consequences, while goods from settlements continued to enter European markets under misleading labels. At the same time, the UN and human rights groups have been documenting serious violations – including a June 2016 UN report that described the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in Palestine as tantamount to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The recent incident involving EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has shown how the EU has caved in to Israeli pressure. Reports that she compared Israeli practices to apartheid in a closed-door meeting have provoked an angry reaction from Israeli officials; the Israeli Foreign Minister has said he will sever all ties with her until she retracts her remarks. The European Commission has responded by sending another commissioner to Israel to reassure officials that relations remain intact.
This is the real message from Brussels: preserving relations with Israel is more important than internal solidarity, self-respect, or the EU's declared commitment to international law and its own values.
Pressure at EU level is essential, and exposing the complicity of EU institutions and leaders must remain a priority. But accountability cannot stop there. Member States – especially those that claim to be defenders of Palestinian rights and international law – must also be held accountable for their ongoing complicity.
The International Court of Justice was clear in July 2024: Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal. It violates the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and must end. Settlement activity must cease immediately, and Israel’s policies violate international rules prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid. The court did not stop with Israel: it ruled that all states, not just Israel, are legally obligated not to recognize the occupation as legal, not to aid or abet its maintenance, and to cooperate in its elimination.
EU member states not only have a legal obligation to act, they also have tools that do not require EU-level consensus.
Member States may suspend bilateral cooperation, including visa facilitation and cultural or scientific exchange programmes; apply national export control regimes to block the transfer of arms, military equipment and dual-use items to Israel; and adopt national measures to prohibit trade in illegal settlements. They may also impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals involved in serious violations of international law.
They can pressure the EU to activate the „Blocking Statute” against US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), while ensuring continued funding for Palestinian civil society. They can initiate accountability in domestic courts, support the execution of ICC arrest warrants, and contribute to the implementation of the International Court’s judgments and advisory opinions. They can also formally intervene in the South African genocide case before the International Court.
The EU and its Member States have spent two and a half years finding reasons to avoid action. The July Council should clearly expose this reality, especially as Ireland holds the rotating presidency from 1 July to 31 December 2026 and has the institutional power to turn words into action.
The question is no longer whether the bloc has the legal tools. It does. The question is whether member states will continue to pass the buck to Brussels or will finally act within their own competence.
Written by: Tamam Abusalama
