Israeli attacks against UN peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon constitute a “serious violation of international law, are completely unacceptable and must stop immediately” for EU leaders, but do not constitute a sufficient red line to act against Benjamin Netanyahu. The heads of government of the Twenty-Seven accused Tel Aviv for the first time of not respecting international legality – there had been no consensus until now, despite the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza -, which represents a lifting of tensions. tone after more than a year of massacre.
“The European Council is deeply alarmed by the dramatic military escalation in the Middle East and the risk it poses for the entire region. “Calls on all parties to act with the utmost restraint, to immediately end all hostilities and to fully respect international law, including international humanitarian law,” affirm the conclusions of the leaders of the 27, which were negotiated at various bands of leaders with different sensibilities regarding Israel, such as Pedro Sánchez and Olaf Scholz.
Likewise, “reiterates Israel’s right to defend itself and the European Union’s commitment to Israel’s security and regional stability.” “All parties must respect international humanitarian law and the dangerous cycle of attacks and reprisals must end,” adds the agreed text, which condemns the Iranian attacks.
While condemning the attacks against the UN mission, it limits itself to “deploring the unacceptable number of civilian victims, particularly women and children, in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the catastrophic levels of hunger and the imminent risk of famine. caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza”, where he demands a ceasefire and bets on the arrival of humanitarian aid.
However, the worsening of the situation, with the escalation which has reached Lebanon, does not lead to a response in the form of sanctions against Israel. Spain and Ireland are the countries that have defended concrete measures: the revision of the trade agreement with Israel. For the moment, the subject has been ignored by the rest of the partners. However, High Representative Josep Borrell forced a debate on the issue during his last meeting with EU foreign ministers on November 18.
Community sources, however, affirm that “in the room, Israel’s attitude is less and less acceptable.” Indeed, one of the leaders asked his counterparts “how far” they were going to go to “say enough,” according to these sources.
“The countries that defended Israel the most are starting to have serious difficulties defending Netanyahu’s actions,” said Pedro Sánchez, who complained to his counterparts for reiterating the need to review the association agreement if it turns out that Israel has violated international law, respect for which is one of the premises included in the pact between the two parties. An argument could now be that the 27 have already written that the attacks on UNIFIL constitute a violation of this international law.
Another of the demands made by Sánchez is that EU countries maintain the arms embargo against Israel. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently pledged to continue sending weapons to these countries, even though the Greens in his coalition government rejected it. “We have sent weapons and we will send them,” Scholz told the Bundestag.
The other issue that Sánchez put on the table is the recognition of the State of Palestine by the member states that have not yet done so (around half, including France, Germany and Italy). “This would be a way of confirming that Europe as a whole is committed to the two-state solution,” Sánchez concluded. The government stresses that the conclusions once again include holding a peace conference “as soon as possible”.
