Afrasianet - Andrea Tite - Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Salerno (Italy) - Italian statesman Giovanni Giulietti once said: "The law is interpreted for friends and applied to enemies."
One of the most prominent examples of this principle is the European Union's extreme complacency and clear disregard for the grave violations committed by Israel against international law and the terms of the Association Agreement signed between it and the Union, as the bloc does its utmost to circumvent any serious confrontation with these violations.
On 20 May, the EU Foreign Affairs Council voted to conduct a review to see if Israel was violating the human rights of Palestinians by blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.
A month later, the same council concluded that "there are indications that Israel may be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement." Only indications!
On 26 June, EU government leaders announced at a European Council meeting that they had "taken note" of these indicators and called on the Foreign Affairs Council to "continue discussions" on them in July.
It is understood that some observers initially welcomed the vote to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement in May. It is natural for people to hold on to any glimmer of hope that steps can be taken to protect the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Unfortunately, the entire "debate" about the Association Agreement is nothing but deception. It does not represent any serious move by the European Union to address Israel's atrocities in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. Rather, it aims to deflect the growing criticism by giving the impression that the Union may be considering taking action.
More importantly, it distracts from the legal obligations imposed by international law and conventions on the EU and its member states.
Human rights pretexts
After 20 months of Israel's devastating war on Gaza, Israel's violations of human rights and international law are so pronounced that they are undeniably linked to the Association Agreement.
The violations have reached such an enormous level that they need to be categorized into different categories to cover the scale and depth of the destruction inflicted on all aspects of life in Gaza.
Israel has been accused of deliberately creating conditions that destroy the viability of Palestinian life in the Strip, which amounts to genocide. This includes:
• Domicide: The complete destruction of Gaza's urban landscape.
• Killing health (medicide): a systematic dismantling of the health care system.
• Killing education (scholasticide): destroying schools, universities and libraries.
• Ecocide: Eradication of agriculture and nature in Gaza.
• Destruction of the economy (econocide): Destruction of the Gazan economy.
• Unchilding: Making childhood impossible.
More than 90% of Gaza's population, or about 1.9 million people, have been displaced. In the past three months alone, more than 600,000 people have been displaced again, some more than a dozen times.
Israel has imposed a full blockade on the Strip since 2 March, and the delivery of little aid has only resumed in late May. Famine is widespread: 66 children died of starvation, and more than 5,000 children were hospitalized for acute malnutrition in May alone.
Talk without action
Under pressure from the European public, which is increasingly rejecting Europe's support for Israel, the EU has finally decided to do something. But so far this thing has been limited to talking, without any implementation steps.
The bloc voted to review the partnership agreement, but this is not exceptional because all partnership agreements are reviewed periodically, which could lead to strengthening or reducing relations.
Indeed, those who called the vote knew full well that suspending the agreement would require a unanimous vote from all 27 member states, which is currently impossible.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and countries such as Germany, Italy and Hungary have expressed unwavering support for Israel. Under these circumstances, the hope of suspending the agreement unanimous is an illusion. A qualified majority vote may allow some aspects of the agreement to be suspended, but that is the most to be expected.
This is by no means a serious affirmation of the Union's commitment to human rights and "core values". Indeed, the public citation by governments and officials of Article 2 of the Agreement, which states that all areas of cooperation "must be based on respect for human rights", is nothing but empty rhetoric.
In fact, the EU never intended to take these human rights requirements seriously. It is easy to see that it did not specify how respect for human rights was assessed, nor did it make such assessments periodic, mandatory or public.
In doing so, the Union leaves itself enough space to claim adherence to "human rights and fundamental values", while in fact "interpreting" its rules to evade any meaningful action.
Hollow logos
Some European countries have decided to take unilateral action, but what they have done is as empty as reviewing the agreement.
The UK has suspended trade talks with Israel, but not trade itself. Its recent joint statement with France and Canada was promoted as "stronger" than the EU's positions, but it only opposes "the expansion of Israeli military operations in Gaza," meaning it objects to escalation and expansion rather than what has happened so far.
Nor did it mention the war crimes of which Israel was accused, nor did it pledge to implement the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
Indeed, despite summoning Israel's ambassador after the "firm" statement, the UK continued to fly spy planes over or near Gaza, moves suspected of gathering intelligence for the IDF.
France announced its intention to recognise a Palestinian state in June. June came and went without recognition.
In October 2023, Spain claimed to have stopped selling weapons to Israel. In May, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated: "We are not doing business with a country committing genocide." However, a research center in Barcelona recently revealed that there are more than 40 contracts between Spanish government institutions and Israeli defense companies.
Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy also continue to supply arms to Israel, in violation of the spirit of international law.
Legal obligations
If European governments were serious about responding to Israel's crimes, they could do so simply by fulfilling their legal obligations under European treaties and international law.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Lisbon Treaty require the bloc to integrate respect for "democracy, human rights and fundamental values" into all its policies. That is why all association agreements provide for human rights clauses.
The Genocide Convention also obliges states to use "all reasonable means available" to prevent genocide. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice recognized that the Palestinians' right to protection from genocide may have been violated.
Actions that EU countries can take include:
• Stop arms contracts with the Israeli government and companies.
• Suspension of intelligence cooperation.
• Cutting off trade, cultural and research exchanges with Israeli public and private institutions in the occupied territories.
• Support the strict application of international law, including supporting the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the enforcement of ICC arrest warrants.
Flagrant breach
Currently, the European Union is in flagrant violation of its legal obligations and of the rules it has set itself. It is a direct result of decades of ignoring grave violations by Israel.
No amount of "interpretation" of law or invocation of formalities can obscure the fact that the Union is violating its legal obligations and the spirit of its rules. It has a long record of turning a blind eye to human rights violations in partner States. This record has reached its humiliating peak since October 2023.
Inaction on Gaza exposes the limits of Europe's commitment to its stated values: by sacrificing Palestine, Europe is betraying itself.