THE world’s most dangerous flashpoint, Israel and Palestine, has been at war again for over eight months. Every time the border shootings, bomb explosions, and isolated rocket attacks escalate into full-fledged war, resulting in the killing of innocent civilians, we witness the sad and depressing disunity and apathy of Muslim leaders and the open support of Western countries for Israel, who take pride in condemning the Palestinian cause, despite Muslims being the sole victims. In late October, as the war in Gaza intensified, all 27 European Union leaders reiterated their condemnation of Hamas’s attack on Israel and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself. They also expressed “gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza” and emphasized the need for aid access, “including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.”
This was supposed to be the EU’s unified stance on the conflict in the Middle East. Reaching it took five hours and was seen as so sensitive that phones were kept out of the room, according to a report in Politico. That same week, at the United Nations, Europe split on a Gaza ceasefire resolution. Countries like Spain, Ireland, and France voted for it. Germany and Italy, among others, abstained. Austria, Hungary, and Czechia all voted against it. Despite Europe’s best efforts, its divisions were on display. “It is these divisions which make it hard for the EU to take a strong, united common position,” said Martin Konečný, Director of the European Middle East Project (EuMEP), an independent, Brussels-based organization. “They can agree on a position on paper, but it’s kind of a minimum common denominator and it doesn’t allow the EU to very forcefully push for something.
Europe, as a whole, has been traditionally seen as seeking a balanced approach to Israel and Palestine, in part because it has had to navigate different public debates and different national sensitivities. At times, this has generated more nuanced discourse, but not necessarily cohesion or authority to influence the outcome of the conflict. Europe does not offer Israel the kind of security or military aid the United States does, and so does not have the same kind of leverage as Washington has. It also lacks the full trust of Palestinians in a way that exists in many parts of the Muslim world.
Those realities existed before October 7 but are now exposed amid the current war in Gaza, where Europe may be sidelined from the diplomatic debate but not from the war’s broader fallout. In recent weeks, protests and marches calling for a ceasefire have swept through European capitals. The continent has also seen a troubling spike in antisemitism. Not unlike the United States, the war is splitting Europe’s left, like France’s socialists and the United Kingdom’s Labour Party. (Even if the UK’s not officially in the bloc anymore, the country faces similar dynamics.) Some see Europe as having squandered its position as an honest broker, especially in the Global South, as it’s more muddled position on Gaza contrasts with its unequivocal condemnation of Russian attacks against Ukraine.
The Middle East’s turmoil, particularly if it escalates into a broader regional war, is a scenario Europe aims to avoid. Despite its influence as an economic power, the EU currently struggles to assert its role in mitigating the crisis. The EU’s diverse sensibilities regarding Israeli and Palestinian concerns might provide an advantage over other international players. Alexander Loengarov from KU Leuven notes that while the US typically sides with Israel and many Muslim countries side with the Palestinians, Europe could potentially play a unique and balancing role.
As experts said, Europe has never had the kind of influence or leverage the United States or regional players have had over Israel and Palestine. Most of Europe’s influence has come in shaping the discourse, using its very specific moral position as a transnational project forged in the aftermath of conflict. “The Europeans have had a somewhat more balanced position than the US and have historically taken the lead before the US on some very important positions, such as recognizing the Palestinian right to self-determination in 1980,” Konečný said.
Europe is a top international donor to Palestinian humanitarian and development aid. It has also sought to strengthen trade, technology, and security ties with Israel, especially in the aftermath of Russia’s Ukraine invasion. European courts have required proof from Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land to be labeled as such, but it has never used sanctions (perhaps the EU’s most powerful collective foreign policy tool) to stop the expansion of Israeli settlements.
As experts say, this kind of balancing has sometimes led to the perception among Israelis that Europe is too sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and a perception among Palestinians that it’s too strongly on the side of Israel. A lot of this is shaped by Europe’s internal political dynamics. Germany, for obvious historical reasons, is more strongly pro-Israel. Ireland’s history of occupation and colonization has tended toward more solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
During the Cold War, support for Palestine and Israel fell along the East-West divide; many of the former Soviet bloc states still recognize Palestine as a state, even as some — such as Hungary and Czechia — have since become some of the most staunchly pro-Israel voices. Some of this shift came after the fall of the Soviet Union, as these countries moved closer to the US and so mirrored Washington’s embrace of Israel. Some of it has strengthened in recent years as the far right rose in prominence and conservative right-wing leaders in places like Hungary have found kinship with Israel’s right-wing leadership in Benjamin Netanyahu.
Before October 7, Europe was committed to a two-state solution, though it may have fallen off as a foreign policy priority for Brussels. Some of this has been influenced by larger geopolitical dynamics, including a war on the continent. But the US’s recent lack of engagement, along with efforts under previous and current administrations to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states, including through the Abraham Accords, also deprioritized the issue in Europe.
—The writer is Former Civil Servant and Consultant (ILO) & International Organisation for Migration.
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