Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002153/2025
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Marc Botenga (The Left), Ana Miranda Paz (Verts/ALE), Rima Hassan (The Left), Cecilia Strada (S&D), Özlem Demirel (The Left), Manon Aubry (The Left), Vicent Marzà Ibáñez (Verts/ALE), Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (S&D), Michael McNamara (Renew), Maria Walsh (PPE), Dario Tamburrano (The Left), Carola Rackete (The Left), João Oliveira (The Left), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Mélissa Camara (Verts/ALE), Anthony Smith (The Left), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Catarina Martins (The Left), Danilo Della Valle (The Left), Rudi Kennes (The Left), Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez (Renew), Giorgos Georgiou (The Left), Majdouline Sbai (Verts/ALE), Matjaž Nemec (S&D), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left), Per Clausen (The Left), Damien Carême (The Left), Leila Chaibi (The Left)
On 7 May 2025, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) referred to her conversation about Gaza with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar by stating: ‘I offered also help by the European Union to distribute the humanitarian aid if they don’t trust the other actors there[1]’. The ‘other actors’ referred to include UN agencies, such as OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and recognised international humanitarian organisations.
The VP/HR’s statement therefore appears to endorse the Israeli Government’s attacks on UN agencies and Israel’s attempt to weaponise aid, as a UN spokesperson highlighted.
The VP/HR’s statement also directly contradicted an almost simultaneous Commission statement saying that the Israeli plan runs counter to humanitarian principles[2].
- 1.Does the VP/HR support the replacement or sidelining of established international humanitarian actors in the occupied Palestinian territory, including UN agencies?
- 2.How does the VP/HR’s position align with the legal obligation, under international humanitarian law, to uphold and support the role of neutral humanitarian organisations?
- 3.Did the VP/HR consult the Palestinian Authority or Palestinian representatives before making this offer to the Israeli Government? If not, how does the offer respect the principle of consultation with local authorities?
Submitted: 28.5.2025