By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Jul 11, 2025
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged on Friday the immediate suspension of the European Union’s Association Agreement with Israel, citing its involvement in the genocide in Gaza.
Speaking before the Spanish Parliament, Sánchez sharply criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court.
He described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “one of the darkest chapters of the 21st century” and stressed the need for accountability.
Sánchez confirmed that Spain and Ireland had formally requested, as early as February 2024, that the European Union review Israel’s compliance with the terms of the Association Agreement.
Despite that request, the EU has yet to take any concrete measures.
Referring to the June 23 report issued by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Callas, Sanchez noted that the findings clearly indicate that Israel has violated Article 2 of the agreement, which conditions the partnership on respect for human rights.
“Those who trample on the EU’s founding principles and use hunger as a weapon to destroy a legitimate state—Palestine—cannot remain partners of the European Union,” Sanchez declared.
He further condemned the EU’s failure to take a stronger stance, warning against applying double standards.
“We must not allow Netanyahu to do in Palestine what Putin is accused of doing in Ukraine,” he said. “We cannot be complicit in what may be the greatest genocide of this century through silence, hesitation, or political expediency.”
The EU-Israel Association Agreement, signed in Brussels in November 1995 and effective since June 2000, establishes bilateral cooperation on the basis of mutual respect for human rights.
In a related move, the Spanish Ministry of Defense announced in early June the cancellation of a contract with an Israeli firm responsible for producing the Spike anti-tank missile system.
The ministry revoked the company’s license to operate in Spain and began seeking non-Israeli alternatives.
The call comes as Israel, with US backing, continues its war on Gaza, launched on October 7, 2023, which has left more than 195,000 Palestinians killed or wounded—most of them women and children—with thousands still missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
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