EU must rebuild Gaza — and force Israel to pay for its destruction

by · EUobserver

The EU Commission has been thus far unable to confirm whether Israel has actually paid back for any destruction. The figures and silence are outrageous

Opinion

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By Nacho Sánchez Amor,
Brussels
,

Rebuilding Gaza remains a moral responsibility for the EU. But there is a dimension of the reconstruction and post-conflict situation that is not being addressed: Israel’s responsibility under international law to repay for the destruction it has caused.

This is a key principle of customary international law of state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts: a state is obliged to repair the injury caused by a breach of substantive rules of international law. 

The EU has been justly and firmly defending this principle on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine since 2022, advocating that Ukraine and its people receive full reparations for the damage caused by Russia.

To this end, it has prominently joined the Council of Europe’s framework for reparations, which include the Register of Damages and the International Claims Commission, and supports the work of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and of the ICC in investigating crimes committed by Russia during the conflict.

Why the Israel double-standard?

Why is the EU failing to do so in the case of Israel’s destruction of Gaza?

This double standard is precisely the root of EU’s moral obligation: its silence and lack of action during the cruder months of the conflict, which have now been followed by lack of progress in rebuilding the enclave.

Moreover, there is also the question of EU-funded projects in Gaza and the West Bank that Israel has destroyed during recent years.

Recent estimates by EUobserver point to at least €150m in damages – EU taxpayers money that funded structures (hospitals, schools, desalination and power plants…).

If we would add the bilateral projects by EU member states, the total would be much higher. 

Recently, the EU Commission has indicated that the EU requested Israel to compensate for EU-funded assets it demolished, dismantled or confiscated in at least 12 formal letters since 2020.

Outrageous silence

Nonetheless, the commission has been thus far unable to confirm whether Israel has actually paid back for any destruction.

The figures and silence are outrageous.

First, the commission and European External Action Service need to make public the extent of the destruction of EU-funded projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

And secondly, the EU needs to vocally demand for the full reparation for these projects.

Finally, there is the issue of Israel's financial responsibility on the clearance revenues, that are the customs duties and VAT that Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf under the 1994 Paris Protocol.

The EU should demand that Israel resumes the full and unconditional transfer of all such revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority, ending a practice of withholding and unilateral deductions that strips the authority of its main source of income and deepens the very fiscal collapse that any reconstruction of Gaza will have to overcome.

Working towards these three objectives also addresses an essential dimension of peacebuilding and conflict prevention, which is pursuing impunity and seeking accountability.

To this end, reparations would be the first step of a broader process that the EU needs to support, which is facilitating and endorsing the unimpeded access to transitional and universal justice mechanisms to pursue crimes committed during the conflict.

The EU's inaction and silence during the war in Gaza landed a heavy and long-standing blow to the EU's credibility in the Global South.

But we now have both instruments and a window of opportunity to address it.

First, let us vocally ask for reparations from Israel, including for EU-funded projects and withheld revenues.

And secondly, let's earmark part of the next long-term EU budget for the reconstruction of Gaza, including participation by the European Investment Bank.

It is only through these concrete actions the EU has the chance to actively support the two-state solution and recover part of its spent moral capital in the Gaza conflict. 

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The EU Commission has been thus far unable to confirm whether Israel has actually paid back for any destruction. The figures and silence are outrageous

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Author Bio

Nacho Sánchez Amor is a Spanish MEP and the coordinator on foreign affairs of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament.

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