The pro-Palestine advocacy organization Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has lodged a complaint about the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) complicity in Israeli war crimes, which has now advanced to the formal assessment stage within the bank’s Complaints Mechanism (EIB-CM).
“This development is not merely procedural — it is a political and legal milestone, signaling that a European institution is being forced to reckon with its complicity in grave breaches of international law,” the HRF said in a statement on Tuesday, characterizing the measure as a “turning point.”
On June 20, the HRF submitted an official complaint to EIB-CM, calling for prompt action to halt and thoroughly examine the EIB’s financial partnerships with Israeli institutions identified on the UN blacklist due to their involvement in unlawful settlements.
The investments, totaling over €1 billion ($1.1 billion), include funding for Bank Leumi, Electra, and other organizations identified in the UN’s 2020 database as entities involved in supporting and benefiting from Israeli settlements.
The Hind Rajab Foundation underscored that “This is one of the first legal actions within the European Union that directly challenges the financial complicity of an EU institution in Israeli war crimes. It breaks new ground in holding third-party enablers — not just Israel — accountable under international law.”
Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank are facing the highest level of settler attacks in five years, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports.
The EIB now needs to assess whether its interactions with Bank Leumi, Electra, and other blacklisted companies violate its own standards, EU regulations, or international commitments.
This is not the first time European institutions and companies have come under scrutiny for their financial connections to illegal Israeli settlements.
In recent years, various civil society groups and legal organizations have launched pressure campaigns targeting EU-based companies accused of benefiting from or aiding in the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the eastern side of al-Quds.
The focus of these efforts has progressively shifted towards targeting the financial mechanisms that support the occupation, rather than concentrating exclusively on Israeli entities.
A legal complaint was filed in France in 2023 against AXA Group, lambasting the insurance company for maintaining investments in banks and companies connected to settlement development.
Similarly, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has withdrawn investments from companies associated with construction projects in the occupied Palestinian territory, highlighting concerns over human rights and reputational risks.
The Hind Rajab Foundation’s complaint against the EIB could potentially become a landmark case, exploring the limits of EU accountability when its institutions are involved in financing organizations linked to war crimes.
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and REUTERS ]
