Ireland seeking review of EU-Israel agreement over rights concerns

Ireland seeking review of EU-Israel agreement over rights concerns

Ireland is in talks with other EU members who want a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the basis that Israel may be breaching the agreement's human rights clause, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

A number of EU states are also talking about a possible joint recognition of a Palestinian state after the current conflict, he said.

"EU-Israeli relations are founded on an agreement which has a human rights clause, and a lot of us believe that Israel may be in breach of it," Varadkar told reporters following an EU summit. "That's something we're talking about."

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"There isn't full agreement, but it's something I called for today, and I called for last December."

Ireland has long been a champion of Palestinian rights, and ministers have repeatedly said the government is considering recognising a Palestinian state. Speaking at the end of the EU summit, Varadkar said there were a lot of "very like-minded countries" around the EU table.

"Another thing we are talking about is recognition. That a number of EU states acting together to recognise Palestine could allow a more equal negotiation to happen after the war has ended in Gaza in and around a two-state solution," he said.