BRUSSELS — A day before South Africa faces Israel on genocide charges at the United Nations’ highest court, Belgium’s outspoken development minister publicly voiced harsh opinions within the European Union.
Caroline Genes asked a rhetorical question of German officials in an interview with a Belgian weekly magazine. Will we continue to stand by until ethnic cleansing occurs? Was it really “never again”? ”
Germany, which has provided uncompromising support to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, stands in stark contrast to public statements from Irish, Spanish and Belgian officials in recent months.
In November, German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck defended his country’s relationship with Israel, speaking frankly about it being a “special” relationship that he called a place of historical responsibility after the Holocaust. He said it comes from. “My grandparents’ generation wanted to eradicate Jewish life in Germany and Europe,” he said.
Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza in response to Hamas attacks have killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in almost 100 days, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, increasing the scope for an agreement between the 27 EU member states. There is.
As Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attack ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians and Israel recently killed a Hamas official in Beirut, South Africa files the most serious lawsuit against Israel in the European territory of The Hague. It is condemned as one of the worst crimes. The country could be indicted – revealing its divisions.
Historically, the EU has agreed on broader issues such as a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, but it is struggling to find common ground on Israel’s current operations in Gaza, experts say. To tell.
The bloc is too divided to be useful as a power broker, they added.
“I cannot in my lifetime imagine a scenario in which Josep Borrell solves the Israeli-Palestinian problem.” [problem]. I think it’s less than zero,” said Anders Persson, a political scientist at Sweden’s Linnaeus University, referring to the EU’s top diplomat.
settle for less
Almost 100 days after the Hamas attack, EU officials and member states have struggled to agree on their position as Israeli operations plunge the besieged enclave into a humanitarian crisis. Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen rushed to Israel days after the attack, and Borrell appealed for restraint on social media as Israel attacks Gaza with thousands of bombs.
Individually, European countries have often played a role in offsetting America’s unwavering support for Israel. But Brussels’ compromise machine struggles when Europe’s 27 capitals, each with its own history and ties to the region, have to agree on a common language. The statement was significantly shorter (how much they could have disagreed). In contrast, the United States is actively preparing to respond to a potential broader regional conflict.
“We’re at a point where we’re settling for less and not doing too much. We’re looking at the U.S. and then we’ll take a look at it,” said Anonymous, like others quoted in this article. said one French diplomat who spoke candidly. .
Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, former head of the EU’s mission to Palestine, said the EU deliberately chose not to exert influence over Israel, for example in the Association Agreement signed by both sides. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “always tried to pit member states against each other and never took the EU seriously, because he knew we disagreed on many important issues.” ” von Burgsdorff said.
For many European countries, the war has divided their societies and anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise. French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community of about 500,000 people and one of Europe’s largest Muslim communities with an estimated 5 million people, said he feared the conflict would spill over into France. He expressed concern that this may be the case.
The divisions come as Europe is already grappling with rising far-right sentiment in the run-up to European elections in early June. Opinion polls predict that the far-right Identity and Democracy faction in the European Parliament will be the third largest group. These parties were already banking on Europe’s struggle to curb illegal immigration and the cost of living crisis. The current war between Israel and Hamas risks escalating tensions within European countries with large Muslim populations.
“We are not going to spend political capital on this. The positions are very different and irreconcilable. And it is not at the top of public opinion ahead of the European elections,” the French diplomat said. Ta.
serious accusation
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), which arbitrates cases between states, will hear South Africa’s case against Israel on Thursday and Friday.
EU foreign and security policy spokesperson Peter Stano said the EU supports the ICJ but “does not comment on cases pending before the ICJ.”
Germany, one of the EU’s strongest supporters of Israel, said through a spokesperson that “claims that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip are false and outside the scope of the EU.” [U.N. Genocide] Tournament. “
Austria, another EU member state that has shown unwavering support for Israel, told POLITICO through its Foreign Ministry that “accusations of genocide as a ‘crime’ are very serious and should not be taken lightly. “There are no plans to participate in the South African-Israeli process at this time.”
Countries such as Ireland, Spain and Belgium have historically been more critical of Israel.
In Belgium, several ruling parties push Participating in the South African litigation in The Hague. Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter said Belgium was relatively isolated within the EU due to its stance on the conflict. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has denied taking part in South Africa’s war against Israel, a move seen as a sign of how unpredictable the outcome of the trial is.
The hearing is the first step in a long process that could take years to unfold, but the ICJ could take interim measures such as calling for a ceasefire or humanitarian corridor, said Hanan Jalal, the Palestinian ambassador to South Africa. he told POLITICO.
Jarrah said if Israel ignores the court’s decision, it will become more difficult to maintain Europe’s fragmented position. “Even European countries would have a hard time justifying their support for Israel…Europeans are more likely to uphold the principles of supporting human rights,” she argued.
Haim Regev, Israel’s ambassador to the EU and NATO, said Israel was rallying support and believed South Africa’s accusations were inaccurate.
He stressed that Israel is waging war against Hamas, not against the Palestinians. “We do not intentionally cause harm or attempt to cause harm. [person] There is no such plan because we are not involved,” he told POLITICO. He added that comments by some hardline ministers calling for the deportation of Palestinians were not Israeli policy.
When European leaders last met in mid-December, a group of leaders from Spain, Belgium, Ireland and Malta urged their colleagues to have a “serious discussion” on Gaza and warned that the EU’s “credibility is in jeopardy”. It’s in danger,” he said. ” But EU leaders have been unable to agree on a new common language on Gaza, not least because of resistance from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, four diplomats said. But “overall the appetite was very low,” one of them said.
The longer the war in Gaza drags on, the more complex the European Union’s response is likely to become. But two diplomats told Politico that the war is on the verge of war after Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip for weeks and announced it would launch more targeted and specific military operations in the coming weeks. He said he thinks it seems like we have entered a new phase.
Anthony Gardner, a former U.S. ambassador to the EU, said that even if the EU continues to make efforts to come up with a more unified statement, it will still be at a disadvantage because only the U.S. and some regional players can make it happen. He emphasized that it would be possible. impact the ground.
EU officials say there are currently no plans to discuss the war when European leaders hold a special summit in Brussels in early February.
“Europe is largely absent from this conflict and is grappling with that reality,” Gardner said.
Claire Callcutt contributed reporting from Paris. with peter heck Paula Andres Richert Contributed to the report from Brussels.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff’s name.