The West especially Europe remains divided over the war in Gaza. As blood shed rages on the streets of Gaza’s cities such as Rafah. Buildings are reduced to rubble. Some civil society groups within Europe want the continent to have a unified foreign policy that prioritizes halting the bloodshed.
After the announcement that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor would be seeking arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas leaders, European leaders were all over the place. And as this dizzying array of reactions has been leaving Europe largely irrelevant in this conflict, it also shows the stark need for a coherent European foreign policy. The EU’s playing a dangerous game, sticking to 27 largely ineffective foreign policies rather than having one voice. This includes the Fundamental question of the recognition of the Palestinian state – which seems like a logical step towards a two-state solution, and yet, it isn’t supported by all EU countries. (POLITICO.eu)
The politics of the European Union are complex as it is. Since the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the bloc in 2016, none of the member states wish to secede any further sovereignty to the transnational body. Foreign policy of the individual member states doesn’t have to be directed by the EU commission in Brussels to have a meaningful impact. It should be respect for fundamental human rights and liberties that should motivate the individual countries. However, with the rise of right-wing governments such as those in Italy and the Netherlands, they will offer steadfast support to Israel. The same is true of Germany which has a more liberal government. The reason why the ICC issued the arrest warrant for Hamas leaders is because they want the militant group held accountable for their actions on the Seventh of October.
Israeli leaders too need to be held accountable for their actions.
All this must start by applying tough love to Israel’s government. The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor made it clear it believes some of the government’s actions amount to crimes against humanity, and the stated goal of releasing hostages isn’t served by Israel’s conduct. Our human response to the massacre on Oct. 7 has shackled us to an Israeli prime minister who’s serving his personal interest and those of the fringe groups in his government. And in doing so, we’ve given up our autonomy and our agency to work towards peace. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Having a common foreign policy based on upholding core values and committing all parties to international law would immediately unlock the paralysis in which we find ourselves. (POLITICO.eu)
The problem with the European Union is that those right-wing governments supporting Israel like the Netherlands (which is still to come in) may not be willing to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv government leaders. Yet Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners have become unpopular on Israeli soil over their failure to retrieve the hostages alive. If Netanyahu and his parasitic cronies cared about the Israeli hostages taken from the concert on the seventh of October then they would not have been so brutal in their slaughter of Gaza. But Netanyahu, his inner-circle and associates are not men who can be reasoned with. They have interest in negotiating with Hamas for the hostages’ release, or even releasing thousands of Palestinians languishing in Israeli jails under administrative detention. Europe for its part will remain as divided as ever by the war.
- “All eyes on Rafah” is an artificial intelligence (AI) generated image with a slogan calling attention to the situation in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt.
- After the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Israel began bombing it from the north and moved down, displacing Palestinians from their homes as they fled south to seek shelter.
- By February, about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population had been pushed into Rafah when Israel said it planned to launch a ground operation on Rafah, claiming Hamas four brigades, the Palestinian group that governs the strip, were there.
- The announcement was condemned worldwide. In February, Richard “Rik” Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza and occupied West Bank, said “all eyes” are on the impending Rafah offensive. Ameerah Kawash, a UK-based Palestinian-Iraqi-American artist and researcher, whose work explores the effect of AI on Palestinian lives and narratives, told Al-Jazeera that “all eyes on Rafah” likely originated from his statement.(Al Jazeera)
- So now AI is being used to call attention to the plight of Gaza. As technology advances both its pros and cons. The use of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (VR) could also be used to distort the truth from what is real.
- The War has allowed the Palestinians to be cornered in Rafah without knowing where to turn to. Netanyahu for his part is in capable of leading the war, let alone the Israeli government or even rescuing the hostages. It is time he stepped down.
- It should become clear that the retrieval of those hostages is not the priority of Netanyahu or his allies. They are clearly more interested in wiping out the Palestinians, much to the detriment of their neighbours. This is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.
- The rest of the world and international bodies have a divided opinion on the conflict Israel is waging. From the European and the African Unions to the United Nations, from Russia and China to the US, not everyone is in agreement about the situation.
It is all a matter of calling for sanctions and disinvestment in the Zionist regime and the release of the hostages by Hamas.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
