EU and Its Member States Must Stop Enabling Israel’s Atrocities and Enforce ICC Arrest Warrants
Gaza, 1 April 2025 – Al Mezan strongly condemns the continued political, diplomatic, and economic engagement of the European Union (EU) and its member states with Israel, which continues as business as usual despite Israel being formally accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), maintaining an illegal occupation of Palestinian territory as reaffirmed by the ICJ in its July 2024 Advisory Opinion, and its leadership facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
Tomorrow, 2 April 2025, Israel’s Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Hungary, despite the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This planned visit is a direct affront to international justice. As a state party to the Rome Statute, Hungary is legally obligated to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu upon his entry to Hungarian jurisdiction and surrender him to the ICC. Failure to do so would represent a serious violation of Hungary’s obligations under the Rome Statute and send a clear message that alleged war criminals are welcome within the European Union.
Should this visit proceed without the execution of the arrest warrant, the European Union and its member states must firmly and unequivocally condemn Hungary’s non-compliance with the Rome Statute and its failure to uphold the fundamental principles of the rule of law and international justice. We further urge the ICC Prosecutor to promptly request that the Pre-Trial Chamber issue a formal finding of non-compliance by Hungary, should it fail to fulfill its duty to cooperate with the ICC.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned visit to Hungary comes at a time when Israel is intensifying its atrocities against the Palestinian people across the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) and beyond. Despite the mounting evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity—including apartheid—and acts of genocide, European leaders continue to engage with Israel and its leadership as though these grave violations are not occurring on a daily basis.
This normalization has been exemplified by recent high-level visits from EU officials and European state representatives. On 24 March 2025, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas visited Israel, just weeks after the European Union, through the EU-Israel Association Council, failed to condition its relationship with Israel on compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law—as explicitly stipulated in the EU-Israel Association Agreement itself. Likewise, on 30 March, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Prime Minister Netanyahu—further reinforcing a narrative of business as usual amid ongoing atrocities.
Such visits signal approval of Israel’s actions, treating a state found to be plausibly committing genocide and to illegally occupy Palestinian territory by the International Court of Justice as a partner rather than a perpetrator. This normalization must end immediately. Continued political and diplomatic engagement with Israeli leadership under these circumstances sends a deeply troubling message of impunity and blatant disregard for international law. It also starkly showcases the EU’s double standards in applying and enforcing international law—swift to act in some contexts, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinian people. This selective approach undermines the credibility of the EU’s legal and moral commitments and erodes the foundations of the international rules-based order it claims to uphold.
We remind European governments of their binding legal obligations to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. This includes ending all forms of support—military, political, or diplomatic—that enable Israel’s ongoing atrocities, and taking concrete action to ensure accountability. This includes the obligation to enforce any arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. Europe cannot credibly claim to uphold human rights and the rule of law while continuing to welcome and engage with individuals accused of committing atrocity crimes.
Al Mezan calls upon the European Union and its member states to:
- Assess and suspend all agreements and diplomatic engagements with Israel that contribute to or legitimize ongoing violations of international law. This includes the suspension of trade provisions under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
- Implement an immediate suspension of arms transfers to and from Israel to prevent further complicity in violations of international law.
- Sanction individuals and entities responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory.
- Prohibit trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, in line with the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion and third states’ obligations under international law.
- Fulfil legal obligations under the Rome Statute by executing any ICC arrest warrants issued against individuals accused of atrocity crimes, including Israeli officials.