As the devastation in Gaza deepens, the European Union’s latest summit has laid bare a troubling truth: when it comes to Israeli crimes against Palestinians, the EU’s commitment to human rights collapses under political convenience. Despite nearly two years of war, mass displacement, and thousands of civilian deaths, the EU has once again failed to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, a deal supposedly anchored in shared democratic values and respect for human rights.

The decision to merely “assess compliance” with this agreement, rather than enforce its provisions, reflects the EU’s paralysing internal divisions. Germany’s historical guilt and unwavering loyalty to Israel, Hungary’s open alignment with Israeli policies, and the cautious ambivalence of France and Italy have formed a protective wall shielding Israel from meaningful accountability. Meanwhile, voices from Ireland, Spain, and Belgium calling for sanctions or state recognition for Palestine are drowned out by diplomatic inertia.

The contrast is striking. While the EU swiftly imposes sanctions over the war in Ukraine, it remains mute in the face of Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza, a campaign that human rights experts and international legal bodies increasingly describe as genocidal. This silence has not gone unnoticed in Palestinian circles, where many see Europe’s response as not just inadequate, but complicit.

In the words of one European affairs expert, the credibility of the EU’s human rights rhetoric is crumbling. Agreements mean nothing if they are selectively applied, used to punish some and protect others. For Gaza’s besieged population, this inaction is not just a diplomatic failure, it is a death sentence.