Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), It could have been a good opportunity to showcase a strong, united, and cohesive Europe against the war. However, during the last Strasbourg plenary, we voted on a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is so weak compared to what is happening in Gaza that it almost seems like a mockery. The text talks about a permanent ceasefire, but it can only happen if two conditions are met.
The first is that all hostages are released immediately and unconditionally, and the second is that the terrorist organization Hamas is dismantled. We believe that after almost 25,000 deaths, the vast majority of which are civilians, including women and children, the time has come for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, no ifs or buts. The resolution is not binding, but it could have served as a warning, a first signal to the Netanyahu government to respect international law and halt this indiscriminate violence against the Palestinian people.
On another note, demanding that the ceasefire be conditional on the dismantling of Hamas creates an unacceptable parallelism between terrorism and the Palestinian people. As the 5 Star Movement, we call for an immediate ceasefire based on respect for international humanitarian law, especially since 25 Israeli hostages have also died during the bombings. The negotiation phase should lead to the release of all hostages held since October 7, and dismantling Hamas cannot happen by leveling an entire region, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians, including many children.
The EU has expressed itself in a contradictory manner on Gaza. On one hand, High Representative Borrell has aligned with the UN’s demands, while on the other hand, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, particularly initially, was accused of focusing solely on Israeli civilian casualties without addressing the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.
The European Council is divided, with some countries like Belgium, Ireland, or Spain, and others like Italy and Germany being hesitant on sanctions against settlers and a ceasefire. As a result, after over three months of war, the EU’s voice is even weaker. There is a lack of a strategy to end Netanyahu’s aggression against the Palestinian people, and there is no sign of a plan to revive what is already stipulated in international treaties, namely, two states and two peoples. Our proposal presented during the plenary discussion was to invite Palestinians and Israelis to the next extraordinary European Council on February 1st.
Europe bears a great responsibility in the Middle East: the conflict is already spreading to Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, where a civil war has resulted in a staggering 377,000 deaths and 4 million refugees. Moreover, the recent skirmishes between Iran and Pakistan offer no positive signs. We do not believe that the correct solution involves military actions, as the risk is an escalation leading to further loss of lives and suffering for the civilian population.
The European Union was founded for peace; precisely for this reason, it should assume a strong geopolitical role and be the primary mediator in trying to halt the ongoing conflicts, both the Israeli-Palestinian and the Ukrainian ones. The European Union must wake up because people continue to die in Gaza. The end of the massacre of Palestinian citizens must happen unconditionally.
