Was it an angry summons or a friendly invitation? When the European Union and Israel hold formal talks, it tends to be a sign of warming ties — like the last edition back in 2022 or the previous round a whole decade before.

This time was supposed to be different. Instead of plans to boost cooperation, the impetus for Monday's meeting was a push by two EU states last year to review trade and ties with Israel over its conduct in Gaza — including actions that the International Criminal Court has since said may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

'Not a tribunal'

But Israel denies those accusations, and EU sources were clear ahead of the association council meeting in Brussels.

"The idea is to keep the dialogue going and not hold a tribunal for Israel," one senior diplomat said.

The original Spanish and Irish drive to review the EU-Israel association agreement, which governs trade and includes provisions on upholding human rights, was also "not on the table."

EU diplomats told DW it took months of internal negotiations among the 27 countries, which range from fierce critics to fast friends of Israel, to reach the compromises needed to convene the first talks since Hamas' October 7 terror attacks.

Israel seemed to see the EU's invitation as a positive sign. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the meeting demonstrated "desire to renew a normal relationship."

"That doesn't mean that there are no differences of opinion," he told DW and other outlets in Brussels. "You have to know how to deal with them," he added.

EU rejects Trump's Gaza plan

The EU dealt with its own internal differences by drafting a 57-point statement replete with censure and praise for Israel, which one diplomat quipped was "everything to everyone."

After President Donald Trump suggested the US "take over" Gaza, the European Union insisted "displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes."

And while welcoming a fragile ceasefire in the strip and demanding that Hamas release hostages, the EU said it "deeply deplores the unacceptable number of civilians, especially women and children, who have lost their lives, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation notably caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza."

Brussels went on to voice "strong opposition to Israel's settlement policy" and said it "strongly condemns the further escalation in the West Bank, following increased settler violence, the expansion of illegal settlements, Israeli military operations and increased terrorist attacks against Israel."

The EU also urged Israel to "allow for a tangible improvement of freedom of movement and access for the Palestinians" and added that it "opposes all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution."

Israel: EU ties must not be 'held hostage'

Israel's foreign minister arrived with his own 149-paragraph statement covering everything from tourism to transport cooperation, with warnings of rising antisemitism in Europe and calls for EU states to promote laws to combat hatred toward Jews.

The text included counter-arguments to anticipated EU criticism over Gaza, saying Israel was "forced to go to war … to dismantle Hamas' military and governmental capabilities, free the hostages, and restore security to its citizens."

"Since October 7th, Israel has been under constant attacks and existential threat," the statement reads.

Israel went on to insist it has "made significant efforts to allow and facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza" and blamed looting by Hamas for difficulties in distributing aid.

And after talks ended, Gideon Saar summed up his pitch to Brussels, telling reporters Israeli-EU relations "must not be held hostage to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Pressed by DW on whether Brussels' warnings would impact Israeli conduct in the West Bank, Saar pointed to bombs planted in Israeli buses last week as evidence of the terrorist threat the country faces.

"We've heard the concerns of certain member states. I explained that whatever we do there, we are doing it in order to protect ourselves," he said. "We need to do it in order … to defend our citizens, and that's what we will continue to do."

EU approach sparks campaigners' criticism

While little reading between the lines was needed to note the gulf in positions between the two sides on paper, the mood was much friendlier in person, with plenty of smiles and handshakes.

And after the formal talks, described by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas as "candid," Saar went on to have meetings with top EU officials including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, whom he called "a true friend of Israel."

Oxfam was quick to slam the EU's approach.

"The EU includes human rights clauses in its bilateral deals for a reason, yet with Israel, these clauses seem optional," the charity's humanitarian aid expert Agnès Bertrand-Sanz said. "This is not diplomacy — this is complicity," she added.

Claudio Francavilla of Human Rights Watch was similarly critical, insisting there must be "no business as usual" with a country "whose sitting prime minister is wanted for atrocity crimes by the International Criminal Court."

ICC: support or non-compliance?

The ICC warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest, issued in 2024, hit headlines in Europe again this week when Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said he had promised the Israeli prime minister "that he could visit Germany, and leave again, without being arrested."

It's not the first time an EU member has suggested it may act in apparent violation of obligations under international law, which require ICC state parties to hand over any suspect wanted by the court who enters their territory.

With the EU's statement to Israel stressing its "unwavering support" to the ICC, DW asked the bloc's foreign affairs chief if Merz' invitation was appropriate.

Kaja Kallas said the EU backs the court's "neutrality and functioning" and recalled that all EU states are signed up to ICC rules.

"But it's true that the enforcement of the ICC warrants is up to the member states to decide," she added.

Israel on Monday slammed the court for "biased decisions" that "seek to undermine" the country's "right to protect its territory and its citizens and to exist in peace and security."

The Israeli statement reiterated past accusations, swiftly rejected by the ICC, that the arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu constitutes "pure antisemitism."

Edited by: Jess Smee