The EU envoy for peace in the Middle East: “Using hunger as a weapon of war is illegal”

The special representative of the European Union for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans (Amsterdam, 1973) is clear: the situation in Gaza, under Israeli bombing and with hardly any access to humanitarian aid, is “absolutely atrocious and incomprehensible.” ”. Koopmans defends the need to stop the conflict and find a sustainable solution. The Dutch lawyer and diplomat, who had been working on the peace process for almost three years and has had to recalibrate the EU's plans after the Hamas attacks of October 7, proposes a comprehensive project, with security guarantees for Israel —“ he will only make peace if he feels safe enough”—and a free Palestine. The EU envoy urges to bring food to the Strip, where children are dying of hunger, to end the killing and to free the hostages.

Ask. The situation in Gaza is critical. The deaths of civilians due to Israeli attacks, of journalists and humanitarian workers, many of them turned into targets, are counted in the tens of thousands. What else has to happen to start the peace process?

Answer. The peace process was already necessary before October and all the terrible things that are happening. Israeli bombing is known to have killed nearly 33,000 people, not counting those under the rubble. And there are tens of thousands of injured. There are hostages who are still, after six months, in the Hamas tunnels; that's terrible too. And now Gaza faces an imminent famine or may even already be happening. There are reports that dozens of children have died from hunger or lack of food. The situation is absolutely atrocious and incomprehensible. The European Union has been clear and united that an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a lasting ceasefire is needed, because this situation is unacceptable and unsustainable. We now need the start of a peace process, which we already needed before October 7, when the Hamas terrorist attacks took place, absolutely reprehensible and atrocious. The urgency is evident.

Q. Some accuse Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza. You are a lawyer, do you believe what you do is legal?

R. We have international courts, and the International Court of Justice is currently dealing with this issue. Let's leave it in your hands. My job now is to be a diplomat and work for peace. But the high representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has already been very clear on this from the first days after the attacks and I fully subscribe to it: cutting off access to water and food to the Strip is illegal; how it is illegal to use hunger as a weapon of war. As well as the expansion of settlements. All that is obvious.

Q. With the current terrible situation, do you see any window of opportunity for dialogue and a peace plan?

R. Yes. Although I say it with a feeling of tragedy, because no one wants to build something positive on such rubble of horror. It's very difficult to think about tomorrow when today is so terrible. We need to bring food to the starving children, stop the killing and free the hostages. This is urgent today, but we must prepare for tomorrow and for a sustainable peace solution.

Q. If the ceasefire finally occurs, what is the roadmap you have designed?

R. No more roadmaps, no one believes in them anymore. We approach this by what we call reverse engineering: we must start with the last step, the day after peace is signed, when there would be a secure Israel next to a free Palestine. For that next day, we need to have ready an incentive package that we are working on with the Arab partners (Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League). It doesn't just mean opening an embassy or exchanging diplomats, it goes beyond that. It is an Israel integrated into the Arab region. Regional free trade agreements, water, energy, climate change. There will have to be security guarantees for Israel from Europe, the United States and other countries. And once there is a state, Palestine, that addresses the needs of the Palestinians, the UNRWA agency [de la ONU para los refugiados palestinos] there will be no need to exist. In addition, there will be a peace fund to which Europeans and Americans and many others will contribute. Perhaps imagining the actual day of peace between Israelis and Palestinians alone will not bring peace, but it will bring it closer. We need them to negotiate their own agreements, but we can make peace more attractive.

Q. How to make it more attractive to the Israelis, when they do not even listen to ceasefire requests or warnings from the United States, a key actor?

R. It's terribly difficult. I understand to the extent possible, from the safe environment in which we live, the trauma of the October attacks. And I also see the trauma that Israel emerged from, which is part of its identity, but also a core part of the genuine fear that Israelis had for their country, for their future. It is our responsibility to help Israel find a secure future. But we also see that the security response of the last 30 years did not work. Building so many walls and having the strongest army in the region did not prevent the attacks of October 7. We need a secure Israel alongside a free Palestine. Otherwise, Palestine will be a stateless territory. And that is dangerous. There are many elements of the peace commitment that will be very positive for Israel, diplomatic, commercial, economic.

Q. The US allowed, with its abstention in the UN Security Council, a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and it was carried out, but then said that it was not binding…

R. A Security Council resolution is binding. Israel and Hamas must abide by it. Regarding full access for humanitarian aid, which was also required, it is obvious that Israel does not respect that resolution. It is not being implemented and that is unacceptable. It goes against everything the European Union stands for. We see children die of hunger because it is not applied.

Q. Are you worried about a regional escalation?

R. A lot. It is extremely dangerous, and this is a euphemism for the region, because what does dangerous mean when so many people in the region have already died because of this conflict? And we see the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, with Iran and with the Houthis in the Red Sea. Nor should we forget the situation in the West Bank, where more than 400 people have died, the vast majority Palestinians. The current escalation of fighting must stop.

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