Israel has formally violated its EU treaty due to human rights abuses, marking a watershed in relations.
Its violation of the EU-Israel association agreement was set forth in a "review" by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, which was circulated to EU embassies in Brussels on Friday (20 June).
"On the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions … there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement," said the Kallas review, which was distributed in paper copies, but leaked to Politico.
"Wording they [Politico] have in that is accurate," an EU diplomat told EUobserver.
Israel's EU embassy did not comment on the leak.
The negative findings could see Israel lose €1bn/year in EU trade perks and access to science grants after July, if member states vote to suspend parts of the bilateral accord.
A senior EU diplomat said on Thursday nothing might happen if Israel "took action" by quickly improving humanitarian access to Gaza.
A previous EU foreign service report in 2024 also documented Israeli "war crimes" and member states ignored it.
But even if EU countries don't suspend anything, the non-binding Kallas review still marks a historic stain on Israel's EU record after 25 years of close relations.
It means Israel joins a rogues' gallery of African, Caribbean, and Pacific states, in a list of 17 similar cases since 2000.
And it makes Israel look like a less attractive ally in a moment of peak tension in the Middle East, even as it seeks US weapons and EU political cover for its war with Iran.
The Kallas review will be discussed by EU ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday, foreign ministers on Monday, leaders on Thursday, and foreign ministers again in July, keeping Gaza on the agenda despite the wider Middle East crisis.
Israel has killed 55,637 people in Gaza in the past 20 months, including 15,613 children, according to a UN report on Wednesday.
Israel's Gaza food blockade means another "71,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children aged six to 59 months," the UN said.
And "children will [soon] begin to die of thirst", a UN spokesman warned in Geneva on Friday, as "just 40 percent of drinking water production facilities remain functional".
Meanwhile, Kallas also joined the French, German, and British foreign ministers in talks with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday.
"The Iranians can't sit down with the Americans whereas we can," said a European diplomat, speaking to Reuters.
"We will tell them to come back to the table to discuss the nuclear issue before the worst case scenario, while raising our concerns over its ballistic missiles, support to Russia and detention of our citizens," the diplomat said.
US president Donald Trump has also said he would wait two weeks before deciding whether to bomb Iran together with Israel, in a setback to Israeli hawks, who had wanted immediate joint action.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.