The first EU-Israel Association Council meeting in 10 YEARS, is now confirmed for 6th of October in Prague. The Association Council meeting is basically a sign of an upgrade in the relations between the EU and Israel.
Decision to convey the meeting was taken at the time when a historic mass eviction and forcible transfer of over one thousand Palestinians is taking place in Masafer Yatta. Furthermore, the approval of the E1 settlement plan is looming which will cut the West Bank into two, destroying any remaining hope for a viable Palestinian state. The EU’s own envoys called for international pressure to stop the mass deportations, and emphasised the need for accountability. Reconvening the joint talks that have been suspended since 2013 will be interpreted by the Israeli government as an implicit approval of all its illegal acts.
A number of European diplomats, including the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs expressed recently their concerns regarding the current developments in Palestine: attacks on leading Palestinan human rights organisations, displacement of Palestinians in various parts of the West Bank (such as in Masafer Yatta), dismantling of the two state solution by building new illegal settlements, flouting of international law and human rights.
Israel raided and shut down the NGO offices exactly a month after EU ministers gave green light to hold the EU-Israel Association Council meeting. It is clear that Israel moved against those NGOs while knowing the EU preparation process for the Association Council was underway. Shutting down human rights NGOs, a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, is an affront to core EU principles. All of this is happening while a process of de facto annexation is taking place.
The EU should not reward a government which pursues its policy of annexation and persecution in open defiance of international law and hundreds of UN resolutions.This dangerous complicity has to stop. The decision has to be revoked, or at least clear and concrete conditions should be set before reconvening the Association Council.
We need to act now to stop this meeting. We need „just”one EU member state to block it.
Therefore we call on you as European trade unionists to contact and pressure your Minister of Foreign Affairs to oppose and block the upcoming EU-Israel Association Council meeting. Here you can find a sample letter to be sent to your MFA.
Let’s act together – we have a chance to challenge European complicity and send a clear message to Israel that its flagrant violations of international law will not be tolerated.
We count on your support!
In solidarity