It may only be a matter of time before the EU punishes Israel for its crimes against Palestinians

Late last month, the EU failed to suspend its trade agreement with Israel despite international pleas, including from UN human rights experts, to do so and despite an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the International Criminal Court. It was not for lack of trying. Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have been heroic in their advocacy, reminding the world that Israel must be held to account for the destruction of Gaza and for its role in the current war with Iran. They have consistently highlighted Israel’s crimes, and last month, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, they pushed for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. It came as little surprise that Germany and Italy – both considered close to the Israeli government – blocked the bid. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas conceded there was “no unanimity” on the proposal. This came after the EU’s own review earlier this year that had already found Israel in breach of the human rights clause that underpins the agreement. The failure comes amid relentless attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, both from Israeli settlers – many of them foreign-born – and from the Israeli army that protects the settlers, blocks ambulances and frequently takes part in violence against civilians. Earlier this week, a 15-year-old boy died of his wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers during a raid in Nablus. European ministers pushing for suspension also pointed to Israel’s recently passed law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted in military courts of killing Israelis. So the question is this: why do European countries that so vocally condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine allow Israel to, quite literally, get away with murder? Germany has long excused Israel’s behaviour, justifying its policies and restricting dissent at home. Activists are routinely barred from attending conferences or symposiums on German soil. The Gazan surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah , on his way to a conference in Berlin where he was due to speak about his experiences as a doctor in the Palestinian enclave, was stopped at the border and deported to the UK. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was banned from entering Germany and even prevented from joining a Berlin congress by video link. The crackdown is so severe that last October, the UN issued a statement urging Germany to halt the criminalisation and police violence directed at Palestinian solidarity activism . UN experts called on Berlin to uphold its human rights obligations and respect the right to peaceful assembly without discrimination. The report cited repeated incidents of police violence, mass arrests and protesters being punched in the face. Beyond the shadow of the Holocaust, a 1952 reparations act still anchors the relationship, sustained by deep bilateral co-operation. But there is also a historic, unconditional embrace: Israel is treated as Germany’s “Staatsraison” – its fundamental “reason of state”. This is a doctrine that has evolved over centuries of western political thought, and what Merriam-Webster defines as the ”justification for a nation’s foreign policy on the basis that the nation’s own interests are primary”. Former chancellor Angela Merkel popularised the term in her 2008 address to the Knesset; her successor, Olaf Scholz, took it further after the October 7, 2023 attacks. The result has been an often-toxic public debate, with sections of the German media amplifying the Israeli narrative at the expense of the Palestinian one. Italy’s government blocked the sanctions on the grounds that they would harm ordinary Israelis, preferring instead what Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called “critical, constructive dialogue” to manage disagreements. To be sure, economic interests are at play here as well. Rome, like other major European capitals, has chosen to protect its €42 billion (almost $50 billion) annual trade relationship with Israel, as well as other interests . Italy’s position aligned squarely with Germany’s, and together the two formed a powerful wall that made passage of the sanctions impossible. It is disappointing, but there is some hope. The European Commission, under President Ursula von der Leyen, has already proposed a partial suspension of the agreement, citing what she called a “man-made famine” in Gaza and a deliberate attempt to undermine the two-state solution. This is a major shift: even if “partial” is the least powerful mechanism available, it marks a hardening in Ms Von der Leyen’s attitude towards Israel. More importantly, more than a million European citizens have signed a citizens’ initiative demanding suspension. There is power in these numbers. UN experts have also called for sanctions as a “minimum requirement” under international law. And Hungary – Israel’s most reliable veto inside the EU under departing Prime Minister Viktor Orban – has just elected a new government under Peter Magyar, who has pledged to rejoin the ICC and to weigh future EU votes on Israel case by case. There is also Pope Leo, who in his sermons and on social media has repeatedly drawn attention to the forced displacement of Palestinians, the war crimes being committed and the “unacceptable conditions” they continue to face. The combination of Mr Orban’s loss and Pope Leo’s fearless advocacy are both powerful, and they could mark the beginning of the end for the Israeli government’s impunity. Last month’s failure, in other words, was not the end of the debate. It was an early round. The question now is whether Europe’s largest member states will continue to shield a government that their own institutions have already found in breach of international law.