The Hamas attack on Israel exposed differences in the reactions of the four main representatives of the European Union (EU), in particular regarding the requirement that the integrity of Palestinian civilians be safeguarded in the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, considered this Tuesday that Israel has every right to defend its territory from attacks such as the one carried out last weekend by the Islamist movement Hamas and that today has caused more than a thousand deaths, but he called for caution and recalled that Tel Aviv must respect international conventions, alluding to the indiscriminate bombing of parts of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which caused a similar number of deaths on the Palestinian side, the majority civilians.
The total siege of Gaza, as well as the deprivation of water, electricity and food, are barriers that Israel cannot overcome, in the opinion of Josep Borrell: “Some decisions [de Telavive] “are contrary to international law.”
But this position is not uniform among leading EU figures, such as the statements of unequivocal support for Ukraine, “whenever necessary”, announced since February 24, 2022. From the first moment, the president of the Commission European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, has opted for a blunt position, without making reference to the need to safeguard the Palestinian population trapped in Gaza.
“Israel has the right to self-defense. The EU mourns the victims of this senseless attack and supports Israel today and in the coming weeks,” von der Leyen wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter) last Sunday.
At dawn on Shabbat last Saturday, the entire world woke up in horror.
The Hamas terrorist attack is an act of war. And we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself.
Europe supports Israel in this tragedy.
– Úrsula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 11, 2023
Since then there have been five more reactions from the president of the Commission. In all posts, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the 27 are “on Israel’s side” and that Israelis have the “right to self-defense.”
Last Wednesday, the tone rose: “There can be no justification for the terrorist act by Hamas” and “the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas is an act of war.”
Von der Leyen’s words in particular did not sit well with everyone. On Sunday, left-wing Irish MEP Clare Daly criticized the Commission president on the social network X.
Who do you think you are? You are not elected and have no authority to determine the EU’s foreign policy, which is set by @EUCouncil. Europe does NOT “support Israel.” We are in favor of peace. You don’t speak for us. If you don’t have anything constructive to say, and you clearly don’t, shut up. https://t.co/9uEklDIIiE
-Clare Daly (@ClareDalyMEP) October 8, 2023
“Who do you think you are? [Ursula von der Leyen] It was not elected and has no authority to determine the EU’s foreign policy, which is set by the Council. Europe does not “support Israel.” We want peace. [von der Leyen] does not speak for us. If you don’t have anything constructive to say, and you clearly don’t, stay quiet,” he commented.
Journalist Arthur Neslen, who covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and others in the Middle East for The Guardian, The Economist and Al Jazeera, wrote in an op-ed in EUobserver, titled “How to ignore Israeli apartheid: learn from Ursula von der They read.” , that von ver Leyen’s words could “come back to haunt her.”
“Hamas’s heinous attack should not distract people from the asymmetric nature of a conflict that killed 6,407 Palestinians between 2008 and 2021, compared to 308 Israelis. […]. In this context, von der Leyen’s rush to send Tel Aviv a blank check may come back to haunt her and us,” he said.
He added: “This time, in the tinderbox of the Middle East – and without any countervailing pressure from the EU or elsewhere – Israel may feel encouraged to go further.”
For his part, Josep Borrell recalled that the Palestinian population also suffers from the blockade of Gaza, an attempt to diplomatically limit the conflict to the Islamist movement Hamas and the Israeli army.
There has yet to be a word from von der Leyen about the Palestinian population, especially after one of her commissioners announced, on Monday, the suspension of support programs, and ended up being disapproved by another.
The situation has caused unrest among Member States who, in general, are against any cuts in aid. Portugal, for example, through the voice of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, questions the legal bases of the decision of the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy.
Von der Leyen has not yet commented on these contradictions within her team, despite the numerous questions asked to the Commission by journalists since Monday, and today she limited herself to saying that the financial aid will be “carefully reviewed.”
The position of the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, was more in line with that of Josep Borrell. On the first day, Michel “vehemently condemned the terrorist attack against Israel” during a conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, but also spoke with the Palestinian prime minister about the need to “protect civilian lives.”
Regarding the review of financial assistance, the Council President agreed with the prevailing sentiment among Member States: “We must not cut much-needed humanitarian and development aid to Palestinian civilians. This could be exploited by Hamas to exacerbate the tensions and hatred”.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also left aside the need to respect international law and protect the Palestinian population during Israeli reprisals.
Like Ursula von der Leyen, all the public statements of the President of the European Parliament included only “solidarity with Israel” and condemnation of “terrible acts of terrorism”, as well as the request for the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped by the Islamist movement. Hamas. .
At a solemn event this Wednesday in Brussels to remember the victims of last weekend’s attacks in Israel at the hands of Hamas, Metsola stated that Israeli citizens died “only because they are Jews,” that Hamas militiamen murdered “more than a thousand babies, women and men,” and that first responders “took Holocaust survivors from their homes and displayed them like trophies in the streets.”
However, there were no statements from von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola about the bombings that some humanitarian organizations described as indiscriminate in Gaza.
Source: TSF
