A September 2022 draft agreement between the European Union and Israel would let Israeli police and the Shin Bet security service use personal data received through Europol inside territories Israel has occupied since 1967, according to Statewatch’s reporting on the text. The Council Legal Service, which advises EU governments, concluded in a leaked opinion that the Commission’s draft contained provisions breaching EU and international law. No agreement has been adopted.

The text matters to anyone whose records sit in a European police file, because the draft lists political views, genetic data and biometric data among the categories that could be exchanged. Statewatch’s overview page for a new project on Europe-Israel police and surveillance-technology ties, dated Nov. 12, puts the stalled deal back in front of readers.

Commission Says No Rounds Are Planned While Records Show Seven Meetings

The Commission’s position and the document record do not line up neatly. Answering a written question from MEPs on Sept. 1, Commissioner Magnus Brunner said for the Commission that no further negotiating rounds have taken place and none are planned at this stage. EUobserver reports that Commission officials held at least seven meetings with Israeli diplomats on the agreement between 2023 and Jan. 28, 2026, including one with then-foreign minister Eli Cohen in April 2023.

Both accounts can be accurate, because a meeting is not necessarily a negotiating round. The Commission’s reply to an access request listed document titles only, so what was discussed in those meetings is unknown. In May 2026, the Council Secretariat refused public access to the draft, citing the international-relations exception and the Commission’s view that negotiations remain unresolved. The Council told Statewatch its 2018 negotiating mandate has not been modified and still applies.

What the Draft Text Would Allow in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and Gaza

The draft, dated Sept. 22, 2022, bars use of Europol-received data in areas Israel has administered since June 5, 1967, a zone that includes the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip. An exception then allows Israeli authorities to use that data in those areas in two cases, according to Statewatch: to prevent imminent threats to life, and for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offenses. The sensitive categories it names include ethnic origin, political or religious views, union membership, genetic and biometric data, health information and sexual orientation.

The 2018 working arrangement between Europol and Israel did not authorize personal data exchange, so the draft would be a step beyond it. Israel’s National Police headquarters sits in East Jerusalem, territory the international community recognizes as occupied, and that location was one of the obstacles that delayed talks on the initial agreement.

Why Council Lawyers Said the Exception Breaches EU and International Law

In a Nov. 29, 2022 opinion, the Council Legal Service concluded that the Commission’s draft included provisions breaching EU and international law, and that the Commission had failed to keep the Council properly informed. It said the territorial derogation should be removed entirely, and a footnote noted that the deal would be the first agreement between the Union and Israel to apply to the territories Israel occupied in 1967. The lawyers accepted that Israel has a duty to maintain public order in occupied territories, but said this does not imply that other states or international organizations may assist it.

That reasoning points to a larger question than data protection. In its July 19, 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice said states must not recognize as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining it. UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul said the derogation appeared to contravene the duty of European states not to recognize situations arising from breaches of peremptory norms of international law, and Eitan Diamond of the Diakonia IHL Centre argued the ICJ opinion reinforces the Council lawyers’ reasoning. The advisory opinion is not binding, and the Commission refused to provide EUobserver with details on the objections. The Commission has told Novara Media that any agreement would contain fundamental-rights safeguards, including limits on data use tied to the death penalty.

Europol Calls Itself a Passive Observer While Hosting Israeli Delegations

Europol told Statewatch it was invited to the negotiations only in a passive listening role, and it said it was not in a position to answer whether the deal would allow data use in occupied territories. EUobserver reports that Europol hosted Israeli delegations, including National Police representatives, on at least five occasions between August 2024 and March 2026, culminating in a March 2026 visit by Israel’s ambassador. Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer told Statewatch that the office has not assessed Europol’s respect for fundamental rights in its cooperation with Israel. French Green MEP Mounir Satouri called the situation a double scandal and said the negotiations must be suspended immediately.

Can Israel’s Adequacy Status Cover Data Used in Occupied Territories?

The Commission says an adequacy decision for Israel has been in place since 2011 and was reviewed in 2024. Itxaso Domínguez of the digital-rights group EDRi argued that the decision covers only the State of Israel as defined in international law, so a derogation for occupied territories could undermine one of its core limits. Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority operates within the justice ministry, questions have been raised about its oversight of bodies such as the Shin Bet, and the European Data Protection Supervisor has stated that independent supervision is not merely good practice.

Brunner’s Europol Overhaul Would Automate Uploads From Member States

Brunner, the commissioner for internal affairs who answered the MEPs, has pitched the Europol reform as a way to automate data uploads from member states and enable real-time collaboration on a shared data space. He has also proposed making Europol a technology and innovation hub for areas including decryption and AI. The European Data Protection Supervisor’s Opinion 18/2026 concluded that the proposal would let Europol process biometric data on people with no established criminal connection. A Europol-Israel agreement would govern what could leave that growing pool, which is why the exception’s wording carries weight.

Phone Extraction and Legal Assistance Offer Other Routes for Data

Statewatch’s technology strand maps 154 Cellebrite contracts active between Jan. 1, 2023 and July 1, 2026: 114 in 17 EU countries, one in Norway and 39 in the UK, worth €69.4 million (approximately $78 million). The London Metropolitan Police’s three-year 2023 agreement, worth £7.9 million (approximately €9.2 million), is the most expensive contract, and EU funds paid for €4.25 million (approximately $4.8 million) of purchases. Cellebrite told Statewatch its technology supports millions of lawful investigations annually.

A separate Statewatch article ties that hardware to another data route. Anan Yaeesh’s lawyer, Flavio Rossi Albertini, says data extracted from Yaeesh’s devices in Italy was passed to Israeli authorities through mutual legal assistance, and that Israeli forces killed four men in Tulkarem in November 2023, shortly after the request, three of whom had been in contact with him. That account is the lawyer’s claim, not an established finding. In Germany, journalist Hendrik Torner’s phone was held for more than 11 months, a regional court ruled the prolonged seizure unlawful, and his constitutional complaint is pending.

What Readers and Lawmakers Can Still Demand

Twenty-seven MEPs asked the Commission in mid-July to clarify the purpose of the meetings, the status of the talks and the human-rights risks. Adoption of any final agreement would need approval from both the Council and the European Parliament, so lawmakers retain a decision point. The open questions are whether the territorial exception was kept, amended or dropped, and whether the Commission will publish its legal reasoning for any future text. Until then, the Commission’s answer that nothing is scheduled is the only public marker of where the deal stands.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Europol-Israel agreement allowing personal data exchange in force today?

No. The 2018 working arrangement did not authorize personal data exchange, and the 2022 draft was never adopted. Adoption would require approval from both the Council and the European Parliament.

Could data shared under the draft be used in the West Bank?

The draft text bars use in areas Israel has administered since June 1967, but an exception allows Israeli authorities to use it there in certain cases, including to prevent imminent threats to life. The Council Legal Service said the derogation should be removed entirely.

What kinds of personal data could the draft cover?

Reporting on the draft says the categories could include ethnic origin, political or religious views, union membership, genetic and biometric data, health information and sexual orientation.

Does the draft affect Israel’s data-protection adequacy status?

The Commission says the 2011 adequacy decision remains in place and was reviewed in 2024. EDRi’s Itxaso Domínguez argues a derogation for occupied territories could undermine its basis, because the decision covers only the State of Israel under international law.