Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid, shooting of Palestinian civilians and targeting of hospitals and shelters during the Gaza war pointed to serious breaches of its obligations to respect human rights, a European Union review has found.
The full report, obtained by The Irish Times, said international agencies had documented “serious allegations of grave violations” of international human rights law by Israel, during its 20-month invasion of Gaza.
The EU review concluded the litany of evidence from the United Nations and other agencies “indicated” Israel had failed to uphold commitments to respect human rights it made in a long-standing agreement with the EU that includes a free trade deal.
The review, written by officials in the EU’s diplomatic corps, was undertaken at the request of a majority of EU states last month.
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EU officials had been asked to examine whether Israel’s actions in the Palestinian enclave had broken guarantees made about upholding human rights as part of the EU’s “association agreement” with Israel. The agreement governs relations between the two sides and includes a free trade deal and access to research funding.
The review, shared with national capitals on Friday evening, said Israel had enforced a “complete blockade” of Gaza for 11 weeks, preventing the “entry of any supplies, including food, medicine and fuel” into the devastated Palestinian territory. This had left the population facing “high levels of acute food insecurity” and half a million people in Gaza “facing starvation”, the review said.
It said the evidence underpinning the review was pulled together from a number of sources, such as the International Court of Justice, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of other UN agencies.
The review noted a UN body said Israel’s continued choking-off of the flow of food, medicine and other vital supplies into Gaza “may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the review “describes an unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians in Gaza resulting from indiscriminate attacks without proportion or precaution”.
The findings painted “a clear and grim picture” of Israel’s deliberate failure to adhere to international obligations, he said.
“Ireland has long argued that clauses on human rights contained in the EU’s international agreement have to be respected, and that there must be serious consequences when they are not observed,” he said.
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began after Hamas militants controlling the enclave attacked southern Israel on October 7th, 2023.
Israel’s renewed military operations and bombing of Gaza this March had led to civilian death and the destruction of vital infrastructure, “including shelter and objects indispensable to the survival of the population”, the review said.
It referenced the “deathly incidents of shootings towards Palestinians”, who were travelling to designated aid distribution sites, since an entity backed by the Israeli government took over the distribution of aid. This new “militarised” system of aid distribution was in the UN’s view a violation of international standards and “contributing to the catastrophic situation in Gaza”.
The review said it was not making any “value judgements” on behalf of EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas or the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm led by Ursula von der Leyen.
Bombs dropped by Israel on civilian shelters and tent encampments “raise concern about Israel’s compliance with the principles of precautions in attack and proportionality”, the review said.
It noted the UN had described Israeli military attacks on hospitals as occurring “in apparent systemic fashion”.
“Palestinian journalists and media workers have reportedly been killed in large numbers, possibly as a result of being directly targeted,” the review said.
The review criticised a “persistent lack of accountability on all sides” during the conflict, raising “serious doubts about Israeli authorities willingness and ability” to investigate its own alleged breaches of international law.
Trends of “discrimination, oppression and violence” towards Palestinians had also increased in the West Bank, since the October 2023 attacks. There had been a “significant” increase in Palestinian killings and attacks by Israeli settlers, it said.
Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints in the occupied territory were continuing to “undermine” Palestinian civilians’ access to “livelihood, healthcare, education and other services”.
The review also noted the “mass arrests” of Palestinians in the West Bank, which appeared arbitrary and without due legal process, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Arrests reportedly often involved violence, humiliation and inhuman and degrading treatment in some cases amounting to torture,” the review said.
The review concluded: “On the basis of the assessments made by independent international institutions cited above, there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement”.
Foreign ministers from the 27 EU states will discuss the findings at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, which is expected to hear louder calls to hold Israel accountable for its conduct during the war in Gaza.
Options to exert pressure on Israel are likely to include suspending aspects of the EU-Israel association agreement, putting sanctions on Israeli ministers who support illegal settlements and restrictions on trade between EU states and occupied Palestinian territories.
