The European Union's decision to purchase Israeli natural gas could put it in breach of international law, a campaign group has said, as the EU mulls sanctions on Israel over its relentless assault on Gaza.
Research conducted by climate-focused NGO Global Witness has found that Israel is likely in violation of international law due to its use of a pipeline that transits Palestinian waters off the coast of Gaza.
The EU's decision to purchase energy supplied via the pipeline would make it complicit in such violations, according to legal advice obtained by the group.
The European Commission in 2022 signed an agreement to import natural gas from Israel after it ended purchases of Russian energy in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The deal involves shipping Israeli gas to Egypt, where it is liquefied and exported to Europe. This is done via the 56-mile EMG pipeline, which runs between Ashkelon in Israel and El Arish in Egypt.
The legal advice given to Global Witness said that the pipeline is likely in breach of international law because it was constructed across Palestinian maritime territory without the agreement of the Palestinian Authority.
Under the UN's maritime treaty, the PA's consent was required by Israel and Egypt before they began the construction of the pipeline.
Palestine has been recognised as an independent state by 147 UN member states and international courts and therefore has sovereignty over its waters, according to the legal advice.
Almost 9 billion cubic metres of LNG was exported from Egypt to Europe between 2020 and 2024, according to Rystad Energy data obtained by Global Witness. Spain, Italy and France were the biggest buyers, worth around $9 billion.
Estimating how much of the gas came from Israel is difficult. Egypt uses much of the gas it imports from Israel for domestic consumption. It has also in the past exported gas from its own fields to Europe.
The 2022 memorandum was supposed to automatically extend in mid-June, though the European Commission has not disclosed the current status of the agreement.
The findings come ahead of a meeting of European foreign ministers where they will discuss whether to impose trade restrictions and other sanctions on Israel in response to its treatment of the Palestinians.
In a review last month, the EU found "indications" that Israel had breached the human rights clause of its association agreement, citing evidence of indiscriminate attacks against Palestinians, the Gaza blockade, the forcible displacement of civilians, and the systematic destruction of the territory's healthcare system.
The 25-year-old association agreement governs the relationship between the EU and Israel, including their trade, economic, scientific and cultural ties. Article 2 of the agreement obliges Israel to respect human rights and democratic principles.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has drawn up a list of potential responses to the review, including a full suspension of the agreement, a freezing of its trade provisions, sanctions on individual Israelis, and limiting EU-Israel scientific cooperation.
How the 27-member bloc will act will be discussed by foreign ministers at Tuesday's meeting.