EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must announce a trade ban on illegal Israeli settlements, Amnesty International has said. The human rights group added that despite a 2025 “State of the European Union” speech that proposed suspending trade in the EU-Israel Association Agreement and sanctioning Israeli ministers and settlers, no progress has been made despite member states imposing their own measures. Amnesty warned of “consequences” for EU inaction, saying it would damage the “credibility” of the bloc’s president and harm millions of Palestinians. “Von der Leyen should use this year’s address to remedy that, by firstly making good on last year’s proposals, then by ensuring the EU joins the ranks of those banning trade with Israel’s illegal settlements,” Amnesty said. Last year, she made her proposals following widespread protests across the EU after famine was officially declared in Gaza due to heavy restrictions by Israel on the flow of aid to the Palestinian enclave. In her speech, she said she was “pained” by the human rights violations committed in Gaza, adding that she would sanction “extremist” Israeli ministers and settlers and suspend funding for a number of projects in Israel. However, suspension of trade in the EU-Israel Association Agreement was blocked by Germany and Italy, while Czechia and Hungary opposed sanctions against Israeli politicians. Von der Leyen, Amnesty said, was “reticent” on the member states’ opposition. The sanctions and bans have not subsequently been forthcoming, in stark contrast to the bloc’s previous outspoken condemnation of Hungary for its opposition to sanctions on Russia. Amnesty said this lack of unity and strength has occurred as human rights abuses against Palestinians have escalated. At the time of her 2025 speech, it said, Israel had killed 64,000 Palestinians in Gaza. That number has since risen to 74,000 despite a ceasefire supposedly being in effect since October 2025. “Israeli authorities continue to impose severe, arbitrary and unlawful aid restrictions as they have confined the population into approximately 30 percent of the territory, and are once again openly discussing plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its Palestinian population,” Amnesty said. “In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, despite protests by the EU and other close allies, Israeli authorities have turbocharged the expansion of illegal settlements. “This resulted in expedited home demolitions, land seizure, fragmentation and dispossession of Palestinians — hallmarks of Israel’s ethnic cleansing and apartheid against Palestinians. “At least 88 Palestinians, including 22 children, have been killed in the West Bank this year alone, bringing the total since October 2023 to nearly 1,100.” Amnesty also pointed out that since the 2025 speech, Israel has passed legislation to introduce the death penalty that would effectively only apply to Palestinians. It also continues to hold thousands of Palestinians in detention without charge and has used military force in Lebanon, killing 4,383 people since the beginning of March 2026 despite a series of ceasefires. Amnesty said the commission president cannot “hide behind the EU’s humanitarian aid to Palestinians while doing nothing to address the reasons why such aid is so desperately needed.” It added: “Nor can she blame member states for not approving her half-hearted proposals. She should actively and vocally engage with them and urge them to comply with the legal obligations under the UN Genocide Convention.” Amnesty said the UN agreed with it — and rights groups such as Al-Haq, B’Tselem and the International Association of Genocide Scholars — that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. “But whether von der Leyen agrees with the genocide qualification is irrelevant: under the Genocide Convention, awareness of a ‘serious risk’ of genocide triggers the ‘duty to prevent,’ compelling all states parties to that treaty — including all EU states — to ‘employ all means reasonably available to them, so as to prevent genocide so far as possible,’” it added. “For the EU, that means suspending the Association Agreement and sanctioning Israeli officials.” Amnesty urged the commission president to “reaffirm the EU’s commitment to international justice.” It said she should “use the EU blocking statute to protect the International Criminal Court and those cooperating with it from crippling sanctions,” and use her next “State of the European Union” speech to propose “an EU-wide ban of trade with Israel’s illegal settlements.” Amnesty concluded: “For Palestinians and so many others in the region, it’s a matter of life and death.”