How Europe turned on Israel over Palestine

Telegraph

30-07-2025

Europe's leaders rallied behind Benjamin Netanyahu after the October 7 terror attacks, backing Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas.
663 days of war later, their goodwill and support are running out fast.
Britain is the latest European country to turn on Israel, joining many others in condemning the scenes of starvation from the Gaza Strip and the violence of settlers on the West Bank.
Emmanuel Macron last week said France would formally recognise Palestine at a September UN meeting. Now Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain could follow suit.
It's a policy shift from both Paris and London designed to rebuke Mr Netanyahu and salvage the idea of a two-state solution.
There are other moves afoot in national capitals and at EU level, to force Mr Netanyahu to stop what some leaders call his 'genocide'.
Donald Trump refuses to put pressure on Israel, telling reporters on Wednesday: 'You could make the case that you're rewarding Hamas if you do that.'
Perhaps for that reason, Israel shows no sign of backing down. Mr Netanyahu promptly accused Sir Keir of 'rewarding terrorism' after already lashing out at Mr Macron.
There has been a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism in Europe since October 7, but Israel still has friends in Europe.
Europe's hard-Right has rallied to the Israeli Prime Minister, including Hungary's Viktor Orban and Marine Le Pen's National Rally, which was founded by her Holocaust denying father
But their support does not carry weight compared to the backing from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has been instrumental in blocking EU-level action against Israel.
Germany and France are the EU's two most influential countries, but are on opposite sides of the argument.
Mr Macron's decision to join 130 countries in recognising Palestine, and become the first member of the UN Security Council to do so, could shift the dial in Brussels.
But German support for Israel, a legacy of its role in the Holocaust, is ironclad because of its 'Staatsräson' principle, which means Israel's right to exist is Berlin's reason of state.
Whether that holds amid accusations of genocide will be crucial in determining the strength of EU action against Israel.
European Union
The European Commission issued its harshest criticism of Israel this week, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu's government of presiding over a 'famine' and 'violating human rights' in Gaza.
Plans were drawn up to exclude the Jewish state from the European Union's £80 billion Horizon Europe research programme as a way of punishment.
But divides between member states over how to handle Israel meant a vote on the measure was kicked into the long grass.
Berlin was blamed as the strongest hold-out by envoys in Brussels.
Ahead of EU talks over a crackdown on Israel, the Jewish state's diplomatic mission in Brussels circulated a note defending its actions in Gaza.
The memo insisted that Israel had 'begun implementing significant measures to facilitate humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip'.
It accused those claiming there was a famine of supporting a 'false campaign promoted by Hamas and its allies'.
A push by Ireland and Spain to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement, a bare bones trade deal, as punishment for human rights abuses in Gaza has also stalled amid EU divides.
The EU was united in efforts to put Hamas under pressure.
The bloc signed a declaration agreed in New York at a United Nations conference, alongside 17 other countries and the 22-member Arab League, which includes pro-Palestinian countries such as Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
It was a historic moment because the Arab and Muslim countries signed a declaration explicitly condemning the October 7 attack, many for the first time.
It is arguably a shrewd tactical move designed to counter Israeli claims that by recognising Palestine, the West is rewarding Hamas, which does not believe in a two-state solution or recognise Israel's right to exist.
France
France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September after months of hesitation is a far cry from the 'unconditional' support for Israel it declared after October 7.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza – and in particular, the growing threat of famine – appears to have been a turning point for France, which is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe and the third largest in the world.
It marks a significant shift for the country, which went as far as calling for an international coalition to eradicate Hamas after the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks in Israel.
Last November, France refused to act on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Mr Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, both accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In April, Mr Macron told journalists in his presidential plane returning from a visit to Egypt that France would recognise the state of Palestine 'in the coming months'.
French conditions for recognition included the demilitarisation of Hamas, the release of Israeli hostages, and the reform of the Palestinian Authority.
None of these conditions have been fully met. Hamas still controls Gaza and holds 49 hostages, 27 of whom the Israeli army has declared dead.
Experts say Mr Macron continues to call for the 'demilitarisation' of Hamas but is no longer making it a prerequisite for recognition.
Some analysts say France also changed its tune to align itself more with the Global South and counter claims of double standards in its hawkish stance on Ukraine and silence over Israel's actions in Gaza.
They say the pledge of recognition was a strategic move by Mr Macron, who sensed an opportunity to become a playmaker and shift the current stalemate where neither Israel nor Hamas nor the United States appears to be seeking an end to the conflict.
Germany
Germany is one of Israel's strongest supporters in Europe. However, this week the German government hinted that it was considering a withdrawal from the association agreement with Israel, in a sign of its concern over famine in the Gaza Strip.
Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, said on Monday that his country 'reserves the right' to pull out of the agreement, when asked by reporters if he was considering such a move.
Berlin has not followed Britain in threatening to recognise a state of Palestine in order to increase pressure on the Israelis.
Mr Merz's government considers the move to be premature. Germany will only recognise Palestine as part of a broader, long-term peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
'The German government continues to view it as one of the final steps toward realising a two-state solution,' German officials said last week, following a phone call between Mr Merz and Mr Netanyahu.
Ireland
Ireland formally recognised Palestine in May 2024, which was hugely popular domestically in a country that draws parallels between its own struggle for independence and that of the Palestinians.
The coordinated announcement with Norway and Spain drew a furious response from Israel, which recalled the Irish ambassador and accused Ireland of having a 'disproportionate obsession' with Israel.
To Dublin's annoyance, the media in Jerusalem were allowed to film ambassador Sonya McGuinness being made to watch videos of female hostages being taken in Hamas's October 7 terror attack.
In December, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin after Ireland supported South Africa's legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
Ireland has pushed for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. It is also pressing ahead with the Occupied Territories Bill, which will ban trade between Ireland and Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Spain
Spain's socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez has, like his Irish allies, been calling for tougher EU action against Israel and insisting on the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
Mr Sanchez said this week that the 'famine in Gaza is a shame for all of humanity.'
On Monday, Madrid announced it would airdrop 12 tons of food into Gaza in a rare example of a European nation joining Middle Eastern countries in sending aid by air.
Last month, Mr Sanchez became the most prominent European leader to describe Israel's war on Gaza as 'genocide'.
The Israeli embassy in Spain accused him of 'demonising' Israel and declared Spain was on 'the wrong side of history'.
Madrid called the statement 'unacceptable' and summoned the ambassador for a dressing down.
Netherlands and Belgium
The Dutch government imposed travel bans on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-Right Israeli cabinet ministers, after accusing them of demanding 'ethnic cleansing' in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
It also summoned Israel's ambassador to denounce the 'unbearable and indefensible' situation in Gaza and is also supporting moves to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
In November, it apologised after visiting Israeli football fans in Amsterdam were attacked in disorder branded a 'Jew Hunt' but it has hardened its position.
The Netherlands has a caretaker government because Geert Wilders, the far-Right populist pulled his party out of the coalition, triggering snap elections in October.
The fiercely anti-Islam Mr Wilders is a vocal and unapologetic supporter of Israel.
As Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced Dutch support for suspending Israeli involvement in Horizon Europe and other measures, Mr Wilders told him: 'Hamas will be proud of you.'
In neighbouring Belgium, King Philippe, took the unusual steps of delivering unusually direct criticism of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it 'a disgrace to humanity', in his National Day speech.
Its government supports a two-state solution and has not ruled out taking action against Israel in the shape of sanctions, whether at domestic or EU levels.