Spain Demands EU Freeze Ties with Israel over Gaza War Crimes and Arms Sales

According to Saed News, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has called on the European Union to immediately suspend its trade and cooperation agreement with Israel and halt all arms exports to the country, citing mounting evidence of human rights violations in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Albares stated, “Now is the time for action. If we have a partnership agreement grounded in human rights, the most logical step is to suspend it—effective immediately—and take a stand.” He added that his proposal includes not only a freeze on the cooperation agreement but also a ban on arms sales and sanctions targeting individuals complicit in violations.

Albares emphasized that the credibility of the European Union rests on its adherence to foundational values. “Today must be a day of reckoning. Human rights violations—wherever they occur—cannot be tolerated. Any failure to act would represent a moral and political failure for Europe,” he said.

EU foreign ministers convened on Monday to deliberate whether Israel’s conduct in Gaza violates the provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which links bilateral cooperation to the respect for human rights. The official request for review originated from the Netherlands and has since garnered support from 17 of the EU’s 27 member states. Spain and Ireland had initially raised the issue back in February 2024.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon echoed Albares’s stance, asserting that the EU must recognize and respond to Israel’s violations. “The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza cannot be sidelined by developments elsewhere in the Middle East or the war in Ukraine,” she said. “Gaza remains in a dire state, with Israel obstructing the delivery of vital humanitarian aid like water and food.”

Fajon urged the EU to take “concrete action,” including the potential suspension of trade privileges and a formal demand to end the blockade. She also stressed the need for compliance with international legal obligations, including respect for UN court rulings and an end to what she termed “illegal occupation.”

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard also expressed concern: “The suffering in Gaza is real and ongoing. We cannot afford to be bystanders.”

Yet the EU remains divided. Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Germany and Italy indicated they would not support suspending the trade agreement with Israel.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian cost of the conflict continues to rise. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, as of last Thursday, 55,706 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023—an operation originally intended to dismantle Hamas and retrieve Israeli hostages. Both objectives remain unmet.

Though a temporary ceasefire was established on January 19, 2025, allowing for a partial prisoner exchange, Israel later withdrew from negotiations over a second phase and resumed military operations on March 18, 2025, effectively breaching the ceasefire agreement.

As calls grow louder across Europe for accountability and an end to impunity, the EU now faces a defining test of its stated commitment to human rights in its foreign policy.