I recently found myself wishing that every official who pushed for a data-sharing deal between Europol and Israeli police would have to walk through the world knowing that every intelligence agency in Europe - and beyond - had access to the most intimate details of their private lives; that they, too, would live with the constant fear that this information could be used against them at any moment, anywhere.
This is exactly the reality that the European Union is preparing for millions of Palestinians: to turn their lives into open books for Israeli authorities, forcing them to navigate the world under perpetual threat and surveillance.
In 2022, it appeared that negotiations between the EU and Israel over an operational police cooperation agreement had reached an impasse, largely due to questions over its application to the occupied territories - namely the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip.
Yet despite the fact that the draft agreement contains a highly problematic and dangerous clause in which the EU would share sensitive personal information about Palestinians with Israel, a new investigation has revealed that talks continued at least until this past January - despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
