Amid growing global outrage over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the enclave, several member states – notably Ireland, Spain and Belgium – had called for concrete punitive steps, including suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
But despite fiery exchanges and legal arguments, the EU remains a spectator in the Middle East conflict. While some capitals pushed for a harder line, others – including Germany, Austria and Hungary – urged caution, citing the EU’s historically close ties with Israel and the legal and political complexity of any sanctions. Even proposals for modest measures, such as a review of arms export licences or restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements, failed to achieve consensus.
Bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip are brought to a private cemetery for burial in Gaza City (Photo: Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)That deal – which includes the promise of more aid trucks and a stronger EU presence at border crossings – was hailed by some as a diplomatic success. Yet its fragile nature was underscored by scepticism from aid agencies and reports that deliveries remain sporadic and inadequate.
Donald Trump’s new world where norms are repeatedly flouted has left the EU floundering (Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/ AFP)
The EU is not the only player watching from the sidelines. Britain, for all its historic influence in the region, is also a spectator. And even US presidents can find their power limited: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly ignored Joe Biden’s calls for restraint in Gaza, and Donald Trump has been unable to impose a lasting ceasefire.
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There are echoes from last month, when Israel and then the US struck at Iranian nuclear targets. EU members had different interpretations on whether it was legal under international law, or desirable. But their opinions carried little weight in Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran.
That is what is happening in trade, where Trump has concocted a wacky rationale for applying tariffs on other countries, knowing that the global institutions supposedly policing trade policy have no power to stop him. And EU’s members are so confounded by Trump’s shameless schemes that they have been unable to reach a clear, unified stance.
The debates on Israel are more about Europe’s internal contradictions than about changing the course of the war. Until the EU resolves its own divisions and finds a way to project power beyond declarations, its role in the Middle East will remain what it has long been: vocal, well intentioned and marginal.
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