JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE EU WITH THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL
The European Union (EU) is actively trying to move away from Russian gas to stop financing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. This has resulted in the RePowerEU strategy and reaching out to old and new gas suppliers to increase the gas flow from other countries to Member States.
As part of a long list of potential gas suppliers, the EU has announced its intention to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the state of Israel.
We actively call out the hypocrisy of the EU to switch from supporting one repressive regime to another. Moving away from buying Russian gas should never lead to reinforcing violence, apartheid and political repression elsewhere.
We deeply condemn the EU’s proposal of a MoU with Egypt and Israel.
In a legal in depth report of Human Rights Watch has concluded that the state of Israel is committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution in their treatment of Palestinians. Since then, consensus has grown on the definition of Israel as an apartheid state, with Amnesty International’s January 2022 report, and the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the OPT report in April 2022. Israel’s leading human rights organization, B’Tselem, has also reached a similar conclusion about Israel perpetrating the crime of apartheid against Palestinians. In the last months, violence has specifically escalated in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.
We stand firm in our categorical opposition to and condemnation of all forms of racism, including antisemitism. We agree with tens of progressive Jewish groups in asserting that criticism of Israel’s occupation and grave human rights violations should not be confused with anti-Jewish hatred and bigotry.
The Arab Republic of Egypt has been called out time and time again for its repression of human rights defenders, opposition politicians, journalists, students, and peaceful protestors. Many of them have been arbitrarily detained in cruel conditions, convicted after unfair trials, tortured, sentenced to death or faced enforced dissapearence.
We highlight the double standard that the EU is applying to the regimes of Russia, compared to Israel and Egypt. We warn that signing an MoU with Israel would normalize and financially reinforce its decades-old system of military occupation and apartheid and feed its impunity. Similarly, the EU supporting the state of Egypt normalizes its regime and reinforces its strength in repressing basic human rights.
We approve the willingness of the EU to rapidly move away from Russian gas and to halt the financial support to the Russian regime. We urgently need to end our toxic dependence on fossil gas.
We call to diversify sources of energy and increase efficiency, not diversify suppliers of fossil gas. We have to terminate existing contracts as soon as possible, rather than initiate new ones. We condemn all trade contracts with repressive regimes. As such, we call on the EU to halt its MoU with Egypt and Israel.
Alternative clean solutions to Russian gas are already available, and we urge the EU to adopt them. We encourage the EU to actively explore and apply radical just energy solutions, such as mass investments in just transition, mass support to energy poor households, large public investments in community based renewable energy for electricity and heating.
SIGNATURES :
- Gastivists Collective, International
- Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee (BNC), International
- The Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall), Palestine
- Friends of the Earth Palestine, Pengon, Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network, Palestine
- Corporate Europe Observatory, International
- CounterBalance, Europe
- ReCommon, Italy
- Ecologistas en Acción, Spain
- FairFin, Belgium
- The Land Defense Coalition, Palestine
- Avli initiative, Cpyrus
- Climáximo, Portugal
- Grec.ques solidaires de Belgique, Belgium
- Movimiento NoTAP Brindisi, Italy