Afrasianet - In November 1995, the European Union and Israel signed an Association Agreement that forms the legal basis for their relations and facilitates bilateral trade exchanges, particularly industrial and agricultural.

Since Article II of the Convention states that signatories are obliged to respect democratic principles and human rights, in mid-February 2024  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez  and his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, sent a letter to the European Commission requesting an urgent review of Israel's compliance with its obligations, which the Commission ignored.

Fifteen months after the letter and the worsening humanitarian situation following the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, it is difficult to evade this tragedy and its realities. Kaya Callas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, announced on Tuesday that the commission would conduct a review of Israel's compliance with human rights principles.

Will Europe really succeed in pressuring the Israeli government to bring in aid and end the war, or are they statements to sow ashes in the eyes?

Late awakening

In breach of cautious attitudes and traditional statements, France, Canada and the United Kingdom condemned what they described as the "hateful" language used by members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the threat of forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, as well as the "scandalous acts" of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. 

A joint statement issued Monday by these countries struck a tougher tone and criticism of Israel and its military. "We strongly oppose the extension of Israeli military operations in Gaza, where the level of humanitarian suffering is intolerable," he said. The leaders of the three countries called on Israel to resume the distribution of humanitarian aid, which has been suspended since March 2.

French President Emmanuel Macron , British and Canadian Prime Ministers Keir Starmer andMark Carney also expressed  their determination to recognize the Palestinian state "as a contribution to the realization  of the two-state solution," and said "we are ready to work with others to this end," according to the statement.

Commenting on this European awakening, Dag Herbornsrod, a journalist and founder of the Center for the History of Global Ideas in Oslo, said that political officials in Europe should have woken up earlier, with the accumulation of so many UN resolutions and reports issued by the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and others.

Herbornsrod argues that it is time to think that Israel does not pay much attention to the children of Gaza, which the United Nations confirmed when it indicated that there are 48 hours left for emergencies to save the lives of Palestinian children.

Tom Flister, the UN's humanitarian coordinator, told the BBC's Today programme that 14,000 babies would die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if Israel did not allow aid to enter immediately. 

Sanctions

A majority of EU foreign ministers (17 member states) voted to revise the text in place since 2000, while Sweden announced it would pressure the bloc to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, and Britain threatened sanctions against settlers in the occupied  West Bank. 

Bertrand Besancino, a former French ambassador to Qatar and then to Saudi Arabia, believes that Netanyahu's desire to achieve his own goals without giving any real opportunity to discuss a permanent solution or a genuine peace process generates a sense of terror and resentment almost everywhere in the world, especially in Europe.

To change this dramatic policy, Pisancino stressed the need to raise the issue of imposing sanctions on Israel, whether by suspending the EU-Israel agreement or by other measures such as banning all arms sales.

Writer and political analyst Jean-Pierre Perrin believes that Europe has missed opportunities to influence the Middle East and humanitarian issues despite having the means to control the Israeli government, but its lack of political will has prevented it from taking any quick action.

Regarding the means of control, Biran said that about 40 percent of Israel's trade is with Europe, "which means that we may be able to apply a series of sanctions similar to those imposed on Russia, and use the treaty signed in 1995 as the main pressure card."

European split

Europe's internal divisions on several levels continue to be an obstacle to joint decisions, including its policy in the Middle East and Gaza in particular.

Thus, the former French ambassador believes that the Europeans' division over the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip pushes the need to find a unified formula to exert pressure on Netanyahu and his government, noting that the international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia in New York between June 17 and 20 may be more useful if a final ceasefire is reached.

In reference to the policy of starvation that takes the lives of Palestinians under the fire of the Israeli occupation, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday on France Inter that "the situation is unsustainable, and blind violence turns Gaza into a death camp, if not a cemetery." 

On the other hand, it seems that the administration of President Donald Trump has made the Europeans more independent in their actions and decisions, and this was evident in the Ukrainian war file, after the United States guaranteed this security aspect for Europe for 80 years.

Columnist Dag Herbornsrod explained that Germany is not taking the same European direction when it comes to Israel, which means that there is no common European position to deal with this issue "because of European responsibility for the Holocaust and so on."

"The UK and Ireland, for example, do not bear the so-called guilt of World War II, so they can express their views on the situation in the Gaza Strip more easily, unlike Germany and Austria," he explained.

Netanyahu's downfall

When Trump shook hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and promised to lift sanctions at the Saudi royal palace in Riyadh last week, in the first meeting of its kind between the presidents of the United States and Syria in 25 years, observers saw it as clear evidence that the US president's diplomacy in the Middle East had upset and marginalized Israel.

Bertrand Pizzasino, former French ambassador to Qatar and then to Saudi Arabia, said that the lifting of sanctions on Syria by the United States and its direct negotiations with the Houthis andHamas are clear indications that Trump today is not only seeking to please Israel, but also taking into account the opinion of Washington's other allies in the region, especially the Gulf states.

Besancino does not believe that there is an American-European desire to topple Netanyahu's government, but rather a European desire to pressure it and the beginning of American resentment of the Israeli prime minister's intransigence.

For his part, Jean-Pierre Perrin questioned whether there was real tension between Trump and Netanyahu, saying, "It may seem that they are different but they are strong allies, and the US president's project to build a Riviera in Gaza is more serious than it seems. The only difference that can be seen is that Trump doesn't want to go to war on Iran, but he doesn't care about Gaza at all." 

"There is a desire at the European level to prevent the continuation of the daily massacre of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the leaders' statements were firm in this regard, but do they want to see the Netanyahu government fall? Yes, maybe."

Indeed, after nearly 600 days of war on Gaza, Israel is facing an unprecedented deterioration in its international standing, following mounting criticism from its closest allies, with Britain,  Franceand Canada threatening sanctions, while London has taken concrete steps, including canceling trade negotiations, recalling the Israeli ambassador, and punishing a number of settler leaders .

Israel's internal situation is worsening, amid warnings of an economic collapse that could cost billions of dollars, and growing fears of stifling international isolation, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry describing the scene as "the worst ever", amid mounting pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

This "diplomatic tsunami," as described by diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv, embarrasses the Israeli government and raises serious questions about the future of its international relations and the possibility of a rupture with traditional partners.

Global runner

An Israeli official told Yedioth Ahronoth: "We are facing a wave of global hostility, no plans, no solutions, only destruction, and the world is fed up," while the silent boycott expands, isolation deepens, and Israel experiences its worst diplomatic moment in decades.

Internally, voices critical of Netanyahu's government are rising, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former military official Yair Golan, while Ehud Barak has called  for civil disobedience, and ultra-Orthodox parties have abstained   from voting with the government coalition for the third week in a row, in signs of government disintegration. 

The Israeli analysis focused on the pressure of 3 major European countries, followed by Britain with direct practical action, in a clear message: "Enough!"

The United States, a closest ally, has opted for silence, with leaks suggesting a decline in traditional support, amid news that US President Donald Trump is "frustrated"  with the Israeli government's performance.

Itamar Eichner, Yedioth Ahronoth's political and diplomatic affairs correspondent, believes that public opinion in the West has become increasingly hostile to Israel, due to images of destruction and civilian casualties, amid the absence of an Israeli plan to end the war or rebuild Gaza. 

He pointed out that the statements of extremist ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich andItamar Ben-Gvir have increased international outrage, in light of the silence of moderate Israeli voices, as Netanyahu is accused of prolonging the war despite ceasefire proposals, and the West sees military operations as serving domestic agendas rather than achieving clear strategic goals.

In light of these facts, Eichner added, "Israel finds itself besieged externally and internally shaken, on the brink of an unprecedented political, economic and diplomatic crisis."

The pressures of Arabs and the West

He stressed that Israel is facing serious economic pressure, said that "Britain alone is a major trading partner," theEuropean Union is threatening to cancel billions of dollars in deals, and at the same time, its countries are considering steps such as withdrawing ambassadors and suspending scientific and cultural cooperation.

He pointed out that France is leading a move to recognize a Palestinian state, with the support of Saudi Arabia, and may be joined by Britain and other European countries, while Israel refuses to participate in any conference that discusses this solution, and threatens sharp responses, such as the closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem. 

Eichner says the United States, a "most important ally," is silent and has not condemned European pressure, raising doubts about its position if an initiative to end the war is put forward in  the Security Council.

Levinson says in Europe are beginning to realize that the present moment may be the "last chance" to stop what some see as widespread ethnic cleansing in Gaza, amid growing European anger at statements by Israeli ministers, such as Smotrich, who called for the destruction of Gaza and the displacement and starvation of its population.

He pointed out that an alliance between Canada, Britain and France is forming to pressure Israel and end the war, taking advantage of their economic power despite their limited political influence compared toWashington.

Silence and crack inside

While its officials are willing to end the fighting, Trump prefers to remain neutral, hindering his political ambitions, including the Nobel peace dream.

"Israel appears to be isolated internationally, except for the limited support of Hungarian Prime Minister  Viktor Orbán, while everyone is waiting to see if Trump will finally move to end this crisis," Levinson concluded.

In the midst of the "diplomatic tsunami" facing Israel internationally, its internal crises are exacerbated and the division in society deepens, in light of the continuation of the war and the absence of a prisoner exchange agreement that guarantees the return of Israeli prisoners in Gaza. 

Political analyst Shalom Yerushalmi wrote in Zaman Yisrael that Golan's remarks, in which he called for "a rational state that does not kill children as a hobby," did great damage to his camp, despite his warnings of Israel's increasing isolation, calling the words "terrible," even if they had the right connotations.

On the other hand, Yerushalmi says, Netanyahu was quick to describe Golan's remarks as "moral decay," although many believe that the real decay lies in his government's corrupt policies and steps, which have deepened the crisis and expanded the war.

Yerushaalmi believes Golan's remarks have created a new rift within the opposition, which is already divided and fragmented, potentially limiting its ability to form a government in the future.

As the fighting continues without a clear horizon, "fears are growing that popular support will erode," especially in light of the threat to the lives of soldiers and detainees, and a war that seems to many to be morally or strategically useless.

Gaza where the Geneva Conventions die

French-Lebanese writer Dominique Eddé said that the worst is happening before our eyes, from the paralysis  of Europe to the powerful rule of money represented by US President Donald Trump, which means  the disappearance of the international community.

In an interview with Lotan newspaper, the committed writer and intellectual explained that the images coming from Gaza burned her nerves, denouncing the "unlimited brutality" and bad faith in Israeli politics, the passivity of the powerful, and the development of  "genocide", while criticizing what she calls armed Islamist parties, such as Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

With her vibrant voice and clear, determined and empathetic perspective, the author, who has accompanied the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, reviewed images of corpses, exhausted men and broken women, referring in particular to the image of an old man pushing a cart full of the dead, suddenly falling to his knees due to a storm of pain, saying that it burned her nerves more than all the pictures.

Dominique Eddé said, according to Luis Lima's report on the interview, "You ask me what the silence of the world says about this?" It is a failure or rather the disappearance of the so-called international community. And the collapse of everything that was based on this law is before our eyes." 

Eddeh, who is originally from Lebanon, recalled that the EU continued to send weapons to Israel, even after  the International Court of Justice  warned of the danger of genocide, and wondered how we can call what has happened since then only genocide.

When asked about the  "right of self-defense" that has become Israel's justification for what it does and a tool of repression against all those who criticize it, Eddé said that this right, as expected, and given the nature of the Israeli regime, has become the right to do everything, to indiscriminately bomb, kill entire families, demolish hospitals, schools and places of worship, limit the number of food trucks allowed to enter, the right to invade part of Syria and destroy its army, and to occupy part of Lebanon, benefiting to an unimaginable extent. From the evil defeat inflicted on the Arab regimes

What is the goal of the Israeli government? Is it the disappearance of Palestine as part of a fragmented and colonized territory?" , recalling that most of society in Israel lives in a state of somewhat voluntary blindness, noting that nationalism supported and framed by fear, accompanied by a sense of superiority, is the worst enemy of humanity.

The main obstacle facing Israel is the founding lie of Zionism, exemplified by former Prime Minister Golda Meir's famous formula "a land without a people for a people without a land," but Israel, instead of fixing and acknowledging this lie, and giving the Palestinians the means to overcome the tragedy that befell them, reinforces it.

Outdated concepts

The author stated that Zionism and anti-Zionism are concepts that are obsolete or at least need to be reconsidered, and she said that Israel as a purely Jewish state is indefensible, but it may be too late, because the power of money has become what today without limits dictates all the internal and foreign policies of the rulers of the world, especially since artificial intelligence feeds, promotes, and accelerates them. 

Perhaps Trump is the triumphant embodiment of the acquisition of money over politics, says Edde, everything is bought and sold, even countries, so this is the worst time to present thought, unless it is the global environmental threat that will one day revive it, putting an end to the current era of predation in which the collapse of Gaza has become a symbol of complete global bankruptcy.

Although Europe's legitimacy rests in part on the defense of certain human values and the law, it failed to unite, but to save the values it speaks of, it could have stopped all arms deliveries and sanctions, denounced association agreements with Israel, and treated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal as designated by the International Criminal Court.

But this sense of guilt, although understandable given the horror caused by the Holocaust, is understood and managed very poorly. Germany, for example, pretends to believe that it is moving away from the Nazi past  by supporting a far-right regime because it is Jewish, and this on the contrary brings it closer to this past, because identity does not enter into the standards of justice, and therefore fighting someone because they are Jewish, Muslim, black, or White is racism, and defending it for the same reasons is also racist.

Eddé concluded that the concepts of participation and citizenship should prevail over the concepts of the group, and that getting out of the hole now requires a tremendous effort of imagination and innovation, noting that the Israeli-Palestinian proposal "land for all" that calls for a two-state solution with open borders is worth considering, but the world in its current state is far from this. 

Arabic silence

Palestinian researcher Mohammed Ghazi al-Jamal believes that official Arab silence is not just an absence from the scene, but rather a reflection of profound shifts in the political doctrine of some regimes.

The sentences list a number of reasons that explain this silence:

1.    The Palestinian resistance has become an adversary against the political, security and economic alliance with the occupying power, based on peace agreements and normalization, making it a tool of pressure and repression for any popular movement that rejects the aggression of the occupation.

2.    Political life has been swept away in Arab societies, and tools of collective action, such as parties, unions, and parliaments, have been nationalized, which have become structures devoid of their true content.

3.    Solidarity with the Palestinians and support for their resistance were criminalized by laws, regulations and media discourse in many Arab countries.

4.    There is a weakness in people's conviction of the impact of the protests, and a weakness in the ability of popular forces to devise forms of solidarity that transcend the constraints of regimes.

5.    The United States and Western countries link their aid to Arab states' relations with Israel, include support for the Palestinians as what they call support for terrorism, and pursue related rhetoric and donations.

6.    The root of the problem – according to the sentences – is related to the legitimacy of the regimes, as those who depend on external support remain dependent on their equations, while those who rely on popular consent that are consistent with the feelings of their nation have a different position. Limited efforts

In a similar reading, Palestinian political analyst Ibrahim al-Madhoun argues that Arab efforts, if any, are very limited and governed by precise and complex calculations. 

Al-Madhoun pointed out that among the reasons for the Arab absence are the weakness of the official system and the decline of the role  of the Arab League, as well as the internal division between countries, whether at the level of policies or intellectual orientations.

Today, the cost of supporting Gaza is politically and economically high, and some rulers fear its internal repercussions, especially in light of the fragility of their legitimacy.

However, al-Madhoun believes that the European move, although delayed and slow, reflects a relative change in the political mood in the West, perhaps due to street pressure, growing moral discontent, or even confusion in the relationship with Washington against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

But he warns against excessive optimism, explaining that most of these countries were partners of the occupation, supportive of its policies and silent about its crimes, and the current move does not seem to be motivated only by humanitarian motives, but is governed by delicate balances and an effort to reposition regionally and internationally.

Starvation and displacement

Political analyst Iyad al-Kara believes that the Arab responses have not risen to the level of crimes committed by Israel, especially since the resumption of fighting last March, and the subsequent bloody massacres and a suffocating siege that lasted for two months, in one of the harshest stages of aggression.

Al-Kara added that the official Arab positions did not go beyond statements of condemnation, without providing any real support to the Palestinians, neither at the diplomatic or humanitarian levels, at a time when Israel is pursuing a policy of systematic starvation and displacement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has established an "immigration department" within the coordinator's office to carry out forced displacement to countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia under the cover of "voluntary", while exerting killing and pressure to force Palestinians to leave Gaza.

He stressed that even Arab summits have lost their value, and no longer enjoy the confidence of the people in their ability to bring about any change, pointing out that the Arab decision has become dependent on the US administration. 

Al-Kara pointed out that some Arab countries now hold the Islamic Resistance (Hamas) responsible for what is happening, instead of blaming the occupation for its aggression.

In light of this accelerated European move and the unprecedented Western positions, the Popular Conference of Palestinians Abroad stressed that the European positions achieved so far constitute necessary first steps, but do not rise to the level of humanitarian catastrophe and daily crimes committed.

In a statement, the conference called on European governments to stop the comprehensive and definitive export of weapons and military technologies to the occupation.

The statement also reiterated its rejection of any attempts to fragment Palestinian rights or impose incomplete solutions, stressing that freedom, return and self-determination are inherent and non-negotiable rights, calling on the Palestinian and Arab communities and the free world to continue popular, media and legal pressure until justice and freedom are achieved for the Palestinian people.