The wars in Gaza and Lebanon are severing Israel's ties with Europe

2024-10-28 22:03:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel's wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon have strained its relationship with Europe, its traditional ally.

European states have criticized Israel for the devastating war in the Palestinian enclave, and for the aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Lebanon.

There are growing calls for an arms embargo on Israel, sanctions against far-right members of the Israeli government, and for the European Union to review its trade deal with Israel.

Pier Camillo Falasca, senior fellow at the Euro-Gulf Information Center in Rome, said this is the "worst state of relations" between Israel and Europe.

Rising tensions

In May, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized the Palestinian state, which prompted harsh criticism from Israel.

They have joined eight other states in the 27-member bloc that already recognize the Palestinian state.

This symbolic step was taken in order to focus attention on negotiations to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist group declared by the United States and the European Union.

Earlier this month, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that her country has imposed an arms embargo on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

Italy is the third largest arms supplier to Israel.

Israel launched the offensive in Gaza weeks after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis.

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, called earlier in the year to stop sending arms to Israel.

Paris has imposed restrictions on the export of some weapons and ammunition to Israel.

In July of this year, the EU has for the first time sanctioned some Israeli settlers for "systematic human rights abuses" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and for blocking humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Meanwhile, some European leaders have called for the EU to review its Association Agreement with Israel, arguing that Israel is violating the clause on human rights in Gaza.

Britain, which is no longer part of the EU, has said it is considering sanctioning some right-wing Israeli ministers.

"Totally unreasonable"

Falasca said the death toll from the war in Gaza — more than 42,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities — had changed European public opinion.

He said that many residents of the continent see Israel's war as "disproportionate and completely unreasonable".

According to him, many Europeans believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have advanced a "more humanitarian and rational strategy to fight Hamas, without destroying the entire territory of Gaza", much of which is now in ruins. .

Falasca has said that the turning point for many European states was when Israel attacked and injured members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

France, Italy, Ireland and Spain contribute troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

On October 19, 16 EU Defense Ministers called for "maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel" to prevent further attacks.

Israeli bombing, which has targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, has killed more than 2,500 people, mostly civilians, and forced the displacement of 1.2 million others.

Hezbollah, the militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has blacklisted only the armed wing, but not the party, which has seats in Parliament of Lebanon.

Nimrod Goren, senior fellow on Israeli affairs at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said protests in the streets of Europe and calls for a boycott of Israel in the academic and cultural fields have created the impression that "something is moving." .

However, "at the governmental level, the influence is smaller than what is seen in unofficial spaces", he said.

Cohen has said that EU member states are deeply divided over limiting or blocking trade with Israel.

He has said that powerful nations, such as Germany, still strongly support Israel.

Falasca has said that the conflicts and increased tensions in the Middle East have had a direct impact on Europe, including the disruption of international transport of goods, as well as increasing oil prices.

"European governments are realizing that they have to be more proactive in the Middle East, compared to the past," he said./REl