Published On 1/5/2026
Yesterday, Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez renewed his call on the European Union to immediately suspend the association agreement with Israel, this time against the backdrop of the Israeli attack on the Global Resilience Fleet heading to the Gaza Strip to break the siege imposed on it by the occupation, and to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of the Strip.
Sanchez’s call came through a blog post on the “X” platform, in which he said: “Israel once again violated international law by attacking a civilian fleet in waters that do not belong to it.”
He added that his government was doing everything it could to protect and assist the detained Spaniards who were aboard the Al-Samoud fleet, but at the same time he stressed that this was not enough, calling on the European Union to suspend the partnership agreement with Israel and to put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respect the law of the sea.
Frequent claims
This is not the first time that Spain has asked the European Union to terminate the association agreement with Israel concluded in 2000, as Sanchez had previously announced on April 19 that Madrid would request this from the Union due to Tel Aviv’s repeated violations of international law.
At the time, the Spanish Prime Minister said that his country’s government “will present a proposal to Europe aimed at terminating the association agreement between the European Union and Israel.”
He added, “A government that violates international law cannot be a partner of the European Union,” referring to Netanyahu’s government, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Two days later, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez announced that his country had submitted the request, supported by Slovenia and Ireland.
The minister told reporters upon his arrival in Luxembourg at the time: “We have to tell Israel that it must change its approach, and that war is not the way to communicate with its neighbors.”
Request to look into Israel’s violations
Madrid first challenged the Association Agreement in February 2024, when it – along with Ireland – sent a joint letter to the European Commission, requesting an assessment of the extent of Israel’s compliance with its human rights obligations in the wake of Israel’s war of annihilation in the Gaza Strip.
After the loss of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the general elections on April 12, who was considered one of the most prominent supporters of Israel within the Union; It has become possible that the European bloc will begin to lean towards the Spanish proposal, with increasing Spanish pressure towards suspending the agreement and the occupation continuing to violate international laws and norms.
The Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel has been the basic legal framework regulating trade and political relations between the two parties since 2000. It was signed in Brussels on November 20, 1995, and entered into force on June 1, 2000.
The agreement aims to establish a gradual free trade area between the European Union and Israel, while enhancing economic, commercial, technological and scientific cooperation, and providing a regular framework for political dialogue.
