The West is hardening its tone towards Israel day by day due to the bombings on civilians in the war against Hamas. The criticism is increasingly open. And the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is greater.
They all support this country’s right to defend itself and respond militarily to the massacre of October 7, in which, at the last assessment, 1,200 people died in Israel. But the succession of images of death and destruction and the number of civilian victims in Gaza – more than 11,000, according to Palestinian authorities – have led Western capitals, from Paris to Washington, to demand relief in Israeli bombing.
What until recently leaders of Europe and the United States suggested in a low voice to Netanyahu and his Government is now being demanded in public and on a loudspeaker. Words like “ceasefire” seemed taboo in some Western capitals. They preferred to talk about “pause” or “humanitarian pauses.” Now they are on the table.
“It is the only solution we have, the ceasefire, because it is impossible to explain that we want to fight terrorism by bombing innocent people,” French President Emmanuel Macron said this Friday in an interview with the BBC. Macron added: “In fact, civilians are being bombed today. In fact, these babies, these ladies, these elderly people die from bombings. There is no reason for it and no legitimacy. So we urge Israel to stop.”
Few have gone as far in criticism as Macron, whose statements Netanyahu has described as a “serious error, factual and moral.” But in the European Union, voices are increasing that, along the lines of the French president, emphasize compliance with international law and sound the alarm. Attempts to translate it into a declaration calling for a humanitarian pause, however, have not advanced so far, according to diplomatic sources. Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria are opposed.
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The United States continues to reject a ceasefire, arguing that it would only give Hamas breathing room. And at no time has he publicly condemned the way in which Israel conducts its offensive or questioned that this State is violating the laws of war. But he has also hardened his tone in recent days.
Blinken: “Too many Palestinians have died”
“Too many Palestinians have died, too many have suffered these past few weeks,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in New Delhi. “We want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to ensure that the assistance they receive is the maximum possible.”
Blinken’s words reveal a shift, as subtle as it is significant, in Washington’s position in the conflict. It is explained, among other reasons, by disagreements within the US Administration itself. And because of the discontent of a sector of the Democratic Party with the support for Netanyahu. This disaffection of the American left could have a cost for Biden in the 2024 presidential elections.
The change in Western tone is significant because, after the massacre of October 7, Europe and the United States gave the impression of allying themselves with Israel without conditions. Although from the first moment they insisted to Netanyahu on the need to respect international law and limit the suffering of civilians, they received accusations of double standards. From the Arab world and the call Yesur global ―and also from a part of Western public opinion― it was questioned that, while Russia was condemned for bombing civilians in Ukraine, the same condemnations were not heard in the case of Israel and Hamas. Demonstrations in support of Palestine on both sides of the Atlantic have brought together tens of thousands of people. Among the latest, those this Saturday in London —massive, with more than 300,000 people—, Brussels and Paris.
In a press conference this weekend, Netanyahu linked the “disagreements” that appear “from time to time” in his contacts with world leaders to the “minorities” that pressure them in their respective countries. He declared: “I tell you: Do not give in to pressure. Your war is also your war. We have to win it for ourselves, but also for you,” he reports from Jerusalem. Antonio Pita.
“How do you find the courage to teach us lessons in the middle of war?” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asked at the same press conference. The question was directed at foreign leaders who criticize Israel. Gallant added: “I want to say to some European leaders who criticize us: for the State of Israel and the Jewish people, this is the year 2023, not 1943. [en referencia al Holocausto], and we have the ability and duty to defend ourselves. And that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Israel’s Western friends have not denied this country’s right to defend itself. On the contrary. And they have pointed to Hamas as the ultimate culprit, an organization considered terrorist in the US and the EU.
“When Hamas attacked Israel, it took responsibility for exposing Palestinians to terrible consequences,” Macron said this week during a humanitarian conference in Paris to raise funds for Gaza and the West Bank. “Today it is the civilians of Gaza who suffer.”
Two weeks ago, the leaders of the Twenty-seven called for establishing “humanitarian pauses” and corridors for aid to reach the Strip. Only two Member States – above all Spain, but also Ireland, with some support from Belgium and Luxembourg, with a much more discreet role – put the need for a ceasefire on the table. This Sunday the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, stressed that the EU is “seriously concerned” about the catastrophic situation in Gaza. In a joint statement, the Twenty-Seven (whose Foreign Ministers will analyze the situation in the Middle East this Monday in Brussels) have urged that these “humanitarian pauses” be made immediately. “We urge Israel to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the protection of civilians,” they claim.
The EU’s ability to influence is limited; that of the United States, not so much
President Biden defines himself as a “Zionist,” after decades of involvement as a senator in American foreign policy and relations with Israel. His relationship with Netanyahu has a history of more than 30 years, when the Israeli prime minister was a diplomat at his Embassy in Washington. The premise “whatever Israel needs” continues to be heard in the daily White House press conferences.
But that message was joined, first, by the call for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Then, the precision, highlighted by Biden himself, that the conflict will have to be resolved with measures that include the two-state solution, the Israeli and the Palestinian. It has been Washington’s official position for decades, but in practice it had been discarded as Israel signed peace agreements with Arab countries.
For two weeks, the White House has introduced another constant: insistence on the need for humanitarian pauses, so that foreign passport holders, wounded and, possibly, hostages held by Hamas after its incursion into Israel, can leave the Strip. . The American president believes that by making clear his support for Israel, he has more capacity to influence his ally and more possibilities of persuading him against excesses that violate international law in his air and ground offensive against Gaza.
But so far this subtle pressure has had little effect. Biden himself acknowledged on Thursday that the duration of the pauses in the Israeli bombings is far from what he had requested, more than three days, in order to – perhaps – release the hostages held by Hamas. And he showed impatience with Netanyahu: getting his approval for humanitarian relief “is taking longer than he expected,” the US president admitted.
Washington, in any case, continues to reject a complete ceasefire. He maintains that it would only serve to give Hamas breathing room. At no time has he publicly condemned the way Israel conducts its offensive or questioned its failure to comply with the laws of war.
Biden’s position draws the ire of Washington’s Arab nations allies. And divisions in the administration itself, where senior officials specialized in the region criticize the “carte blanche” to Israel and warn of the rapid deterioration of American prestige among populations in the Muslim world.
An open letter signed by more than a thousand officials from the US Agency for International Development calls on the White House to demand an immediate ceasefire. “We are alarmed and disheartened by the numerous violations of international law,” indicates the letter, according to the Reuters agency, which has had access to it. More than 500 workers from Biden’s 2020 election campaign have written a similar text. In Congress, half of Democratic senators have signed a letter calling on the White House to balance its support for Israel with assistance to Gaza and efforts for sustainable peace.
Discontent is also growing among the bases of the Democratic Party. The demonstration called last week in Washington brought together, according to its organizers, 300,000 people. Two surveys published by the think tank The Brookings Institution points to a rapid decline in support for Israel among voters in that party — especially among younger voters — in the last month, after a rise after the Hamas attacks. At the same time, and although on a much smaller scale, support for the Palestinians is increasing.
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