Human Rights Watch (HRW), along with 125 other civil society organisations, has urged the European Union (EU) to review Israel’s compliance with its human rights obligations under the ‘EU-Israel Association Agreement,’ following the February 2024 request made by Spain and Ireland to suspend it over grave Israeli abuses.
According to HRW, the EU has never answered the Spanish and Irish request for the suspension of the agreement.
In a letter addressed to EU and member states’ leaders, the organisations called on EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and EU foreign ministers to unequivocally condemn Israel’s atrocity crimes and other serious violations of international law during the EU-Israel Association Council meeting with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday February 24, 2025.
The organisations stated: ‘Kallas and EU foreign ministers should signal an end to the bloc’s reluctance to acknowledge and address Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity – including apartheid – and acts of genocide.
‘They should make clear to Sa’ar that there will be consequences for past and ongoing abuses, including sanctions on officials responsible for ongoing abuses and suspending weapons sales.’
Claudio Francavilla, associate EU director at Human Rights Watch, said: ‘There can be no business as usual with a government responsible for crimes against humanity, including apartheid, and acts of genocide, and whose sitting prime minister is wanted for atrocity crimes by the International Criminal Court.
‘The only purpose of this Association Council meeting should be to call out those crimes and to announce long overdue measures in response.’
The organisations asked the EU to focus its discussions with Sa’ar on the possible suspension of the agreement.
HRW pointed out that Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement sets human rights and democratic principles as ‘essential elements’ of the treaty, so any violation of which can lead to its suspension.
HRW said: ‘We have documented grave abuses by Israeli authorities and forces during the hostilities in Gaza and in the region, including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, including extermination, and acts of genocide.
‘Israeli authorities also flouted three binding orders by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take steps to prevent genocide in a case brought by South Africa for Israel’s alleged violation of the United Nations Genocide Convention.’
Despite the immense destruction that has affected all of Gaza, and the devastated streets and buildings that have turned into ruins, citizens are trying to return to life, affirming their refusal to surrender to the scenes of death and devastation – scenes that can only evoke astonishment and admiration.
Shops with damaged walls and cracked facades have reopened their doors, cafes are filled with patrons, taxis are back on the shattered streets, and police are deployed to manage traffic on the ruined roads, as if challenging the effects of aggression.
In the streets of Gaza City, a falafel vendor stands among the wreckage of his shop, lovingly preparing sandwiches, while a famous pastry shop displays its goods despite a shortage of raw materials. Ice cream, which has always symbolised the Gaza summer, is once again cooling the hearts of children who have grown up to the sound of bombings, as if the people of Gaza are telling the world: ‘We will live despite the pain, and we will rebuild despite the destruction.’
In light of the systematic destruction the region has witnessed, the occupation aimed to turn Gaza into an uninhabitable city, but it did not realise that its people cling to their land as roots cling to the soil.
This determination has thwarted all plans that wagered on displacing Gaza’s residents and breaking their will. ‘We are no longer afraid… We live because life is our right, and we will not leave because this is our land,’ says one shop owner who has reopened despite the severe damage.
Despite the pain left by the war, children can be seen playing among the ruins, and workers are rearranging their goods amid the smell of dust and gunpowder.
This is Gaza, rising again after every aggression, bringing life back to its streets with the hands of its people. The city they wanted to erase quickly regained its pulse, as if sending a message to the world: ‘We are here, and we will stay here.’
What is happening in Gaza today is not just a return to life; it is a true victory over the war machine, a setback to plans aimed at uprooting people from their land. It is a lesson in resilience and determination that the people of Gaza present to the world: that life is stronger than death, and will is stronger than destruction.
Compel Israel to implement deal
Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said in a televised statement that his Movement and the resistance have shown ‘complete seriousness’ in carrying out the ceasefire agreement, while the occupation and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government continue to ‘procrastinate and attempt to evade’ their commitments, particularly in the humanitarian aspect related to the entry of aid and heavy machinery to recover bodies from under the rubble.
He pointed out that the Movement is working with Qatari and Egyptian mediations ‘day and night’ to compel the occupation to implement the first phase’s provisions, which include providing relief materials, fuel, electricity alternatives, and enabling fishermen to resume their work, as well as facilitating travel through crossings to alleviate the suffering of the residents and stabilise them in their land.
He stressed the necessity of compelling the occupation to implement all provisions without delay, especially allowing the entry of heavy machinery to recover the bodies of martyrs and prisoners killed by the Israeli bombardment, warning against the continued ‘procrastination in negotiating the second phase,’ which was supposed to begin on the 16th day after the signing of the agreement.
He clarified that Hamas is ready for immediate negotiations of the second phase’s provisions, which include ‘a complete ceasefire, a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the completion of a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal in a single package,’ with the need to secure that with binding international guarantees according to Security Council Resolution 2735.
Settlers desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque
Scores of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated the Al Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday morning and later in the afternoon, amid tight restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshippers to the holy site.
According to local sources, at least 157 settlers entered the Mosque through its Maghariba Gate in the morning and provocatively toured its courtyards under police protection.
During their tours at the Islamic holy site, the settlers received lectures from rabbis about the alleged Temple Mount and a number of them provocatively performed Talmudic prayers.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation police imposed movement and entry restrictions on Muslim worshippers at the Aqsa Mosque’s entrances and gates and prevented many of them from entering the holy site.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew media reported that Israeli security officials would impose limited access for Muslim worshippers to the Al Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the Israeli police recommended granting only 10,000 permits for Palestinian citizens from the occupied West Bank to enter the Mosque during Ramadan.
These permits will only be given to men over 55 and women over 50, KAN added.
Gaza homes torched
Several Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip caught fire on Monday after the Israeli occupation army launched attacks on some neighbourhoods.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli drones and tanks opened fire on homes in central Rafah, setting several of them ablaze.
Israeli gunfire was also reported in the eastern parts of Gaza City. No one was reportedly hurt in the Israeli attacks.
The new attacks came despite the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza last month, pausing Israel’s genocidal war that killed more than 48,300 people and left the enclave in ruins.
The Palestinian authorities in Gaza have already reported over 350 Israeli ceasefire breaches since January 19, including the killing of 92 people and the injury of 822 others in Israeli attacks.
