How Netanyahu finally lost Europe

Telegraph

28-05-2025

Less than two years after the Hamas October 7 terror attack on Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost Europe.
The continent's most influential leaders rallied behind Israel's right to defend itself and the subsequent war on the terrorist group, but new military tactics involving massive air strikes, food and aid shortages have sapped that goodwill.
Operation Gideon's Chariots aims, for the first time, to seize and hold huge swathes of the Gaza Strip, rather than attacking Hamas in a given area, then moving on.
It involves ordering the entire civilian population to a 'humanitarian zone' in the south, and follows, until last week, a two-and-half-month block on aid.
Now there are increasingly loud European calls for an arms embargo to end the relentless prosecution of a war many see as already won.
The starkest sign of the estrangement came on Monday, when Germany, Israel's strongest ally in Europe, warned it would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law.
Friedrich Merz, the centre-Right Chancellor, attacked the air strikes as 'no longer comprehensible'. Such words carry extra significance because of the legacy of the Holocaust.
Germany has a policy of special responsibility for Israel, which means it almost always backs it to the hilt. It is also its second-largest global arms supplier behind the United States.
But public opinion is shifting, and there are calls from Mr Merz's coalition partners to impose the arms embargo or risk German complicity in war crimes.
The rebuke from Israel was furious. Foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar warned that any attempt to block weapons from getting to Israel would result in the country's destruction and 'another Holocaust'.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is a member of Mr Merz's Christian Democrats.
The German politician was criticised for freelancing after travelling to Israel after October 7 and giving a full-throated endorsement of its right to defend itself, in breach of EU convention.
On Monday, she accused Israel of using 'disproportionate force' in an 'abhorrent' escalation and called for an immediate ceasefire.
The EU is now reviewing its trade agreement with Israel, after a request by the Netherlands, which was backed by 17 of the bloc's 27 member states.
Britain shelved trade talks with Israel last week, condemning Israel's refusal to allow thousands of aid trucks access to Palestinians.
On this, as on Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, London is working in coordination with Berlin and Paris.
Ireland and Spain faced accusations of anti-Semitism after they formally recognised Palestine in May last year.
Once outliers in Europe, they are seeing other countries move closer to their position.
Earlier this week, Spain hosted an international meeting in Madrid, attended by Britain, Germany, Italy and others, and called for an arms embargo on Israel.
Ireland has begun work on a ban on Israeli imports from occupied Palestinian territories and said it hopes to convince its EU allies to follow suit.
Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state probably ranks second in Israel's list of diplomatic nightmares after a weapons embargo.
France, home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, is currently leading this effort.
This has prompted behind-the-scenes accusations of betrayal in Jerusalem, with sources claiming they had been assured that Emmanuel Macron's government would not do this.
The great moment of danger for Israel is a conference Mr Macron is convening along with the Saudis next month, beginning on June 17 at which, it is feared, more European declarations of Palestinian state recognition might emerge.
Germany, it is thought, still opposes a move that would expose Israel's growing international isolation.
The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, but its most important ally remains the US, by far its largest arms supplier.
What started as a honeymoon period in US-Israel relations at the start of Donald Trump's second term has, if not soured, then certainly cooled since January.
Mr Netanyahu is frustrated that Mr Trump is prioritising a nuclear deal with Iran, which prevents Israeli strikes on the Iranian nuclear programme.
Mr Trump is frustrated by the quagmire in Gaza and the lack of progress on hostages. But few seriously believe the Republican establishment, with its evangelical Christian core, will allow Mr Trump to drift too far from Israel.
So Mr Netanyahu remains unrepentant and on the offensive.
Last week, the UK, France and Canada warned they would take 'concrete actions' against Israel unless it allowed aid back in.
Mr Netanyahu hit back, accusing the three leaders of being on the wrong side of history.
One Israeli diplomatic source told The Telegraph: 'There was a real feeling of betrayal about Keir Starmer's involvement.
'There is a view here that France is unpredictable and just does what it does and Canada isn't that important. However, Britain is important, particularly because it's been such an ally in the past in the fight against terrorism and given such tangible support.'