European Union foreign ministers ended a meeting in Brussels on 15 July without agreeing to sanction Israel or suspend the 1995 Association Agreement, despite an internal report that lists 38 breaches of the pact’s human-rights clause. The gathering was the bloc’s first formal review of relations with Israel since the Gaza offensive escalated and followed weeks of lobbying by several member states for punitive action. High Representative Kaja Kallas presented ten potential responses, ranging from freezing research funding and trade preferences to an arms embargo and personal sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. None of the proposals secured the unanimity required; Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy refused to endorse penalties, while Spain, Ireland and Slovenia argued the EU’s credibility was at stake. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard called the outcome “a cruel and unlawful betrayal” that would be remembered as “one of the most disgraceful moments in EU history.” Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, who attended meetings in Brussels, said she was “shocked and disappointed,” noting that civilians continue to be killed while queuing for food in Gaza despite a recent EU-brokered agreement intended to ease humanitarian access. Kallas insisted that “all options remain on the table,” adding that the EU will assess Israel’s compliance with the aid-access deal every two weeks and could revisit punitive measures if conditions in Gaza do not improve. For now, the bloc remains divided over how far it is willing to act against its largest Middle-East trading partner.