Mundubat and ECCP has published a report “EU obligations and duty to end Israeli policies of Forced Transfer, Colonialism and Apartheid in Occupied East Jerusalem”. The report addresses in detail EU’s obligations to end Israel’s policies of forced transfer, colonialism and apartheid in East Jerusalem.
In 1967, Israel unlawfully annexed East Jerusalem and 28 surrounding villages. UN Security Council and General Assembly condemned this annexation and consider East Jerusalem an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel implements several policies of ethnic cleansing/forcible population transfer, colonialism and Apartheid against Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. These policies constitute violations of Human Rights and serious breaches of peremptory norms of International Humanitarian Law. They also may amount to crime against Humanity, war crime or crime of Apartheid.
Many Israeli and international companies, including European enterprises, are located or develop activities in Occupied East Jerusalem, taking benefit from the settlement activity and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, in contravention of International Humanitarian Law. The highest concentration of Israeli businesses in Occupied East Jerusalem can be found in Atarot industrial Park.
While Israel has benefitted from an increased privileged relation with the EU, as demonstrated by the signature of several agreements like EU-Israel Association Agreement, 4th Agreement for Scientific and Technical Cooperation, ACAA, Comprehensive Aviation Agreement, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Horizon 2020, Palestinian people from OPT as well as those holding Israeli citizenship have suffered continuous deliberate gross violations of Human Rights by Israel, including their right to self-determination.
Among the 10 Mediterranean partners of European Union’s Neighbourhood Policy (ENPI), Israel is EU’s best commercial partner, with a total volume of trade between both parts amounted to 29.4 billion euros in 2013.
While Israel is EU’s 28th trading partner in the world, EU is by far Israel’s largest trading partner and its first importer. Trade balance between EU and Israel is positive for EU, with a record of 16.9 billion euros of EU exports compared to 12.3 billion of imports. Trade between EU and Israel has increased 48 % in the last ten years, as in 2003 it amounted to 19.7 billion euros compared to 29,4 billion euros registered in 2013.
As required by Article 2 of EU-Israel Association Agreement, the relationships between the EU and Israel, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on “respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement”. A non-execution clause introduced by Article 79 of the Agreement complements Article 2 and provides the legal mechanisms through which either party can take “appropriate measures”, i.e. suspension of the agreement, in case of the violation of democratic principles or human rights.
Although Articles 2 and 79 of EU-Israel Agreement and Article 16 d) of Guidelines on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) allow for adoption of sanctions in response to Israel’s violations of human rights, EU has favoured over the last decade a so-called more “incentive-based” approach to the promotion of human rights in its relations with Israel. But this “carrot policy” has not been effective. In a context of gross and serious violations of IHL and IHRL peremptory norms, EU is has to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel.
Civil society demands to the European Union and EU Member States:
As third States, European Union and EU Member States have the political and moral DUTY and the legal OBLIGATION to put an end to Israeli policies of forcible population transfer, colonialism and Apartheid in Occupied East Jerusalem. In order to ensure that they abide with their duty and obligations, we REQUEST:
- EU to suspend the EU- Israel Association Agreement on the grounds of the systematic and deliberate gross violations of Palestinian Jerusalemites’ Human Rights internationally recognized in the Human Rights Treaties, as allowed by articles 2 and 79 of the Agreement, and the serious violations of peremptory norms of International Law, as recommended restrictive measure in the EU Guidelines on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law.
- EU and Member States to adopt a systematic policy of no official visits with Israeli representatives or under the Israeli protocol in Occupied East Jerusalem including Israel Police Headquarters, Israeli Ministry of Justice, Hebrew University or Tzipi Livni’s office.
- EU and Member States to sever or refrain from giving aid or assistance, including through Horizon 2020, to any Israeli public or private institution established in Occupied East Jerusalem, e.g. Israel Police Headquarters, Israeli Ministry of Justice or Hebrew University (partially built on occupied land).
- EU and Member States to sever or refrain from giving aid or assistance, including through Horizon 2020, to any public institution or private company responsible for serious breaches of IHL and peremptory norms of International Law in Occupied Territory, including East Jerusalem, like construction or maintenance of the Wall (e.g. Elbit and IAI), building of illegal roads, tramways and settlements in Occupied East Jerusalem (e.g. Veolia), home demolitions and eviction of Palestinian people (e.g. Israeli Antiquity Authority and Jerusalem Development Agency).
- EU to extend the exclusion from EU funding of EU Guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU to Israeli national public institutions and individuals established in Occupied Territory, including East Jerusalem in order to ensure that EU won’t render aid or assistance to Israeli settlements.
- EU Member States to adopt all legislative, administrative, diplomatic and logistical measures to ensure strict and full compliance with the principle of not rendering aid or assistance to the settlements in Occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli applicants and beneficiaries of national grants, prizes and financial instruments.
- EU and Member States to encourage and fully support Palestinian Authority accession to the Rome Statute, as well as the filing of complaints for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes to the International Criminal Court and to cooperate with this Court in its efforts to end impunity.
- EU and Member States to impose an effective ban on importation of settlements products, including those partial or totally produced in Occupied East Jerusalem, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
- EU and Member States to comprehensively investigate the business activities of companies and financial institutions registered in their own respective countries, which profit from Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of Occupied Palestinian Territory and from other unlawful Israeli policies, and take all effective measures to end such practices and ensure appropriate reparation for affected Palestinians.
- EU and Member States to effectively prevent all European private companies and public entities including tourist agencies, banks and Universities, from profiting from the settlements activities and breaches of International Law in Occupied East Jerusalem.
- EU member States to strip or not to grant JNF-KKL charitable status neither tax exemptions on the ground of its policies of forcible population transfer, colonialism and apartheid in East Jerusalem and to effectively prevent European citizens from transferring funds to settlers organizations which are responsible for the “judaization” of Jerusalem, eviction of Palestinian’s people from their homes and attacks on Palestinian people, e.g. El’Ad, who might be found guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity.