Over 60 organizations call for suspension of EU-Israel association agreement

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - LONDON — As many as 60 humanitarian organizations and trade unions called on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel, ban trade with illegal settlements and suspend all arms transfers to the country.
A joint letter released by Amnesty International on Thursday urged the EU toadopt the long-overdue measures proposed by European Commission President von der Leyen in September 2025, in particular the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
It also called for additional steps to comply with international law, including banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and suspending all transfers and transit of arms to Israel.
Meanwhile, a civil petition calling for the total suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement for alleged war crimes has reached one million signatures across all 27 member states.
Under EU rules, the European Commission and the European Parliament must now assess the request as the petition received required number of signatures to trigger a response from the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was launched by the European Left Alliance (ELA), alongside civil society organisations and pro-Palestinian movements.
Promoters want to reach 1.5 million signatures before ending the collection. National authorities will then have three months to verify the signatures, after which the initiative can be formally submitted.
The European Commission will then be required to outline any action it intends to take in response, or explain why it will not act. The European Parliament must hold a hearing with the organisers and may also debate and vote on a resolution.
The joint letter issued by Amnesty stressed that the EU had already found Israel in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing violations of human rights and democratic principles, and said ongoing actions in Palestine and Lebanon have deepened the breach and caused widespread suffering.
It further pointed to Israel's death penalty law for Palestinians, describing it as "an egregious violation of the rights to life and fair trial of Palestinians," while underlining that it adds to the "growing body of discriminatory legislation and policies implemented by Israeli authorities against Palestinians."
The letter also highlighted worsening conditions in the occupied territories, including increased settlement activity, displacement and violence in the West Bank by occupiers, as well as mass detentions and reported abuses of Palestinians.
It warned of a continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and growing risks of spillover into Lebanon, raising concerns over broader regional instability and violations of international law.
"These developments come on the heels of decades of toothless EU statements of concern and calls for a 'two-state solution' that have been largely ignored by Israeli authorities, to no consequences," it further said.
Welcoming commitments by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, the organizations urged the bloc to do the same "in line with its longstanding, unanimous condemnation of Israeli settlement policies as illegal and an 'obstacle to a two-state solution' that the EU claims to pursue."
The letter stressed that "no qualified majority" has yet been reached in the Council of the EU to suspend the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, despite repeated calls from member states, Members of the European Parliament, civil society and the European public.
"This failure to act risks rendering the Association Agreement’s human rights clause meaningless in practice, further tarnishes the EU’s credibility and emboldens the sense of impunity fueling Israel’s growing abuses," it said.
The letter further reiterated the need for the EU and member states to immediately suspend all transfers and transit of arms, munitions, equipment, technology, parts and dual-use goods to Israel. It also called for a coordinated action at the institutional level to prevent such transits.
"This obligation is not discretionary but arises under both EU and international law," it added.
"The patterns documented in this letter are the predictable consequence of decades of impunity: a failure by the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable, and a willingness to allow political considerations to override legal obligations," the letter underscored.
It reaffirmed that measures demanded by the signatory organizations are not just political choices but also legal obligations.
"What remains absent is the political will to act," the letter also said and added: "The people of Palestine and Lebanon deserve action and accountability, not concerns and condolences. The time to act is long overdue." — Agencies