Rights group slams EU for ignoring Israeli violations
The European Union has been criticised before its upcoming Partnership Council meeting with Israel, with critics urging the bloc to suspend talks and impose sanctions on Israeli officials.
At a news conference, Alexis Deswaef, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, emphasised the need to hold the EU accountable for its response to Israel’s war conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“All possible alarms are sounding yet the EU turns a blind eye, acting as if nothing is happening in Israel. Every honest lawyer in the world will confirm that this is an ongoing genocide,” Deswaef said.
He condemned Israel’s continued expansion in the occupied West Bank and the Trump administration’s support for annexation efforts. He also warned the EU’s ongoing engagement with Israeli authorities undermines its credibility.
Deswaef pointed to Article 2 of the EU-Israel Partnership Agreement, which requires adherence to human rights and international law, and urged the EU to enforce these principles and reconsider its partnership with Israel.
Israel kills three Palestinians in occupied West Bank
Israeli authorities say undercover police officers killed three Palestinian fighters in the Far’a camp, northeast of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
The three were involved in smuggling arms, Israel’s army alleged. Two other people were detained in the raid.
Since the start of an Israeli military campaign on January 21 – targeting the Jenin refugee camp and its adjoining city – the raids have expanded to other areas of the occupied territory.
Several refugee camps – including Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Far’a – have been “nearly emptied of their residents”, the UN said, describing the incursion as “the single longest in the West Bank” since the second Intifada.
Israeli army to perform military excercise in northern Gaza
The Israeli army announced it will undertake a military manoeuvre in the north of the war-devastated Gaza Strip.
“As part of the exercise, there will be a lot of movement of vehicles and security forces in the area,” it said in a statement.
The exercise will take place on the same day four bodies of Israeli captives will be released for the first time since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was signed in January.
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