Even before the president of the United States, Joe Biden, qualified his speech with the message that the majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with the atrocious attacks by Hamas, there had been a shift in the EU after the wave of criticism received by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, given her unlimited support for Israel’s retaliation. The European institution sent a statement on Saturday in which, apart from announcing a significant increase in aid for Gaza, it stressed that “the right to defend oneself from Hamas terrorism must respect international humanitarian law.”
But it did not stop there. The European Council agreed yesterday afternoon on a declaration with the EU’s common position on the conflict. He did not even want to wait for the extraordinary summit that his president, Charles Michel, had called for this Tuesday. The speed of events and Biden’s words led them to advance their statement.
The text seeks balance. On the one hand, it contains the most absolute condemnation “of the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas” and “firmly underlines Israel’s right to defend itself.” But it is clarified that it must be done “in accordance with international and humanitarian law.” This idea is reiterated, “the importance of the protection of all civilians being at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
This tagline, also introduced by the European Commission in its note on Saturday, represents a correction to the position maintained by Von der Leyen. The head of the community Executive traveled to Israel on Friday where she met with the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and gave him her full support. “In the face of this unspeakable tragedy, there is only one possible response: Europe stands with Israel,” she said.
Cacophonies
The image with Netanyahu and the lack of mention of the need to respect human rights caused an avalanche of criticism even within the bloc. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, recalled that the EU’s foreign policy “is set by the European Council and the council of foreign ministers.”
Von der Leyen’s visit to Tel Aviv had also occurred after last Tuesday the Neighborhood Commissioner, Hungarian Olivier Varlheyi, unilaterally announced the suspension of development funds for Palestine.
In order to avoid these cacophonies, Michel had summoned the heads of state and government of the EU for a video conference on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. But they didn’t want to wait. The statement released yesterday calls on Hamas to immediately release the hostages and expresses its willingness to “continue supporting the most needy civilians in Gaza.” Likewise, it advocates collaborating with the legitimate Palestinian authorities and other partners to “avoid further escalation” and supports two States as a solution for lasting peace.
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