Initial failure and new direction: European foreign policy in Israel-Palestine conflict

After Hamas’ terror attack to Israel on the 7^th October and the escalation it caused in the Israel-Palestine conflict, The European Union firmly condemned the event, stating its support to Israel, but highlighting the need to respect international law in the state’s response in Gaza.

After the extraordinary European meeting on the 17^th October, European Council President Charles Michel declared: “When base infrastructures are broken, from access to water and power, and food delivery is not permitted, international law is not applied”.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyer, affirmed Palestinians are not the terrorists to fight, Hamas is, so there is no contradiction in expressing solidarity to Israel while providing for Palestinians humanitarian needs.

This declaration follows the debate about a possible suspension of European humanitarian aid to Palestine, announced by European Commissioner on enlargement and Vicinity policy Oliver Várhely, afterwards denied by European executive’s chief spoke person Eric Mamer. Aid will not only to be carried on, but also multiplied, from 25 to 75 million Euros.

These affirmations came after an initial chaos in the Union’s foreign policy on the conflict in Middle East. The meeting was held after a very criticized European Commission President’s visit to Israel, where to many the message was the EU would unconditionally support Netanyahu’s strategy, who is criticized both internally and for the conflict management. Moreover, instead of appealing to an immediate ceasefire, like the UN did, the extraordinary European Council only asked for a humanitarian break.

This said, European foreign policy demonstrated again to be unable to respond to nowadays international crisis. This is showed not only in the European institutions’ actions and declarations, but also by member states’ solid actions.

Notwithstanding the unanimous position taken by the 27 member states  on the 26^th October, in the United Nations’s General Assembly four of these states (Austria, Croatia, Czeck Republic and Hungary) voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, eight voted in favor (Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxemburg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) and fifteen abstained (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Holand, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Romania).

The only point all member states seem to agree on is a creation of two separate states (an Arab Palestine and a Jewish Israel) as solution to the conflict in Middle East, as proposed by Resolution 181 of UN General Assembly in November 1947. Historically, the European Union has always supported the creation of two states, but failed in promoting the creation of an independent Palestinian state on many occasions, actively playing not only a diplomatic a role through peace processes and encouraging dialogue between the two peoples. The EU also lacked financial support to humanitarian projects in the Palestinian Authority territory.

According to former French diplomat Pierre Vimon’s declarations about the Arab-Palestinian conflict: “The EU can still play a role, but now has to tackle a sort of handicap regarding Arab states, and more in general regarding many partners in the global south, that lost trust in EU’s diplomacy”.  

A first turn that showed EU’s diplomatic weight in the conflict comes after a month, though, between the 16^th and 17^th November, when High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel visited Palestine, curing a bit the previous tries of a failing European foreign policy and the different postures of heads of the 27.

Borrell recognized a mistake by the European Union in the conflict management, highlighting the need for a political solution to end the violence cycle, also condemning increasing Israeli terrorism in West Bank. The High Representative urged Israel to confront the illegal occupation of Palestine territory, that risks to generate a growing hostility in the conflict, extending it to West Bank.

After a meeting with Palestine’ First Minister Mohammad Stayyeh, Borrell presented an European plan providing six conditions, three affirmative and three negative, to the Arab-Palestinian conflict. Among the negative, the opposition to a forced expulsion of Palestinians, the reduction of Gaza territory and its permanent Israeli re-occupation, highlighting the link between Gaza bombing and the Palestinian issue.

Affirmations include the Palestinian Authority comeback in Gaza, with explicit reference to Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah, the Arab states’ financial and political involvement and an increased European effort in building a Palestinian state.

Notwithstanding, Borrell highlighted how the solution will have to be “supported by a strong Arab states’ involvement”, both financially and politically, and that a increased EU involvement in the region will be needed, “especially in building the Palestinian state”. The Palestinian government approved the plan, giving back the EU its diplomatic role in the conflict. Meanwhile, Israel keeps silence.