A month on, Kallas' meaningless Gaza 'deal' has failed

Over a month has passed since the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, announced a humanitarian agreement with Israel to significantly increase aid entry to starving Palestinians in Gaza.

Presented as a great diplomatic breakthrough in response to pressure from the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, this so-called “deal” has proven to be little more than a symbolic gesture and a way for Israel to buy more time, when there is no time left.

During the past month, there has been no visible improvement on the ground.

On the contrary, Israel has failed to meet even the minimal commitments outlined in the deal, while the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate by the hour. Palestinians are starving to death under an Israeli-imposed siege and famine, and are targeted and killed as they seek aid at the deadly and humiliating Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites.

While EU member states continue to “assess the situation”, aid convoys remain blocked right outside Gaza’s borders, medical supplies become increasingly scarce, and food insecurity is reaching life-threatening levels.

Israel continues to starve, kill and forcibly displace civilians, pushing them into conditions unfit for human survival.

Journalists continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli forces, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh.

According to WHO, there has been a sharp increase in starvation-related deaths among Palestinian children.

As of 13 August, out of 235 deaths from starvation, 106 were children, while health facilities have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April.

The risk of famine now affects almost the entire population in Gaza, and over 500,000 Palestinian in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions. According to data collected by the EU delegation and UN and ICRC “at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food,” and “the numbers [of trucks] are still below” what had been agreed.

This man-made humanitarian crisis is the direct result of Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid, indiscriminate bombardments of civilian areas, and systematic breaches of international law.

Many international experts, including UN special rapporteurs, Palestinian and  International NGOs, and most recently Israeli human rights organisations have determined that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

In January 2024, the International Court of Justice determined that Israel is carrying out “plausible genocide” in Gaza in breach of the Genocide Convention.

Too little, too late

The European Commission itself has acknowledged that Israel has violated Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in its recent proposal to partially suspend Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe Programme.

The proposal, presented on 29 July, would suspend the participation of Israeli entities in activities funded under the Accelerator of the European Innovation Council (EIC).

While the proposal marks the first concrete EU step in response to Israel’s conduct, it remains little and comes late.

It does not address the core issue, Israel's systematic violations of international law, and perpetration of its settler colonial apartheid regime and illegal occupation, which third parties have a positive obligation to actively oppose. Yet, some member states made clear their intention to block the decision in the council during the vote of 13 August.

Meanwhile, a growing number of countries (including the UK, France, Finland, Portugal, Malta, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain) have called for broader recognition of Palestinian statehood.

However, this recognition remains largely symbolic and has not been matched by concrete actions.

The gravity of the genocide demands full sanctions and countermeasures, an arms and energy embargo on Israel and full accountability.

Heads of EU states continue to meet with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and allow overflights through their territory, despite an international warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court.

While states such as Slovenia and the Netherlands have banned Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and France, Spain and the UK have suspended arms exports or halted specific transfers.

Although these steps are welcome, they represent the bare minimum and much more must urgently be done.

Individual sanctions and asset freezes should be issued against all members of Israel’s security cabinet, and military leaders, as architects of the genocide.

Despite a slow but progressive shift, these measures remain far from sufficient.

The Israeli army continues to be largely supplied by European countries.

Germany’s announcement this month of suspending arms exports and the Netherlands’ suspension of three naval export licenses that could be used in Gaza are long-overdue decisions that can pave the way for a full EU-wide arms embargo.

However, it is too little too late, and Germany’s suspension does not go far enough.

Full arms exports under existing licences continue to be shipped from Germany despite the death toll in Gaza surpassing 60,000 Palestinians killed.

Member states must end all existing and future arms export licenses and stop rendering assistance to the genocide in Palestine. Continuing to supply with Israel despite the extensive evidence of genocide, turns them into partners with the Israeli government in carrying out this genocide.

In the same vein, the EU must urgently move beyond assessment and take concrete action based on its own finding that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the Association Agreement, as well as Israel’s failure to respect the terms of the 10 July Agreement.

These measures shall lead to effective accountability for violations committed all across the occupied Palestinian territory.

The EU has both the tools and the growing political consensus to take meaningful action and end the ongoing genocide.

The vote on the proposal and additional actions reveal whether the EU can meet this challenge and end its complicity in the most heinous genocide of our time, as we watch the brutal killing and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people. 

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