War in Gaza: we cannot continue with business as usual

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15.11.2024 Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission

HR/VP Blog post - After a year of unheeded pleas by the Israeli authorities regarding respect for international law in the Gaza war, we cannot continue with business as usual. This is why I have proposed to EU Member States to ban import of products from illegal settlements and to suspend the political dialog with Israel. We will discuss these measures at the Foreign Affairs Council next week.

© European Union, 2024

As we run out of words to describe the ever-worsening situation in Gaza, people there are running out of everything. In many parts of the Gaza Strip, there is almost nothing that could sustain organised human life. Northern Gaza, once home to more than one million people, has been emptied completely after several weeks of relentless shelling, destroying the last remaining health centres, shelters and schools.

Ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza

With no aid coming for weeks, the remaining 400 thousand residents were eventually forced to leave at gunpoint. The few images that come out show an apocalyptic wasteland. It is not by chance that the words "ethnic cleansing" are increasingly used to describe what is going on in North Gaza.

What we see of the tragedy of Gaza is however only the tip of the iceberg since the strip has been sealed. There are hardly any journalists or international observers entering Gaza since more than one year. It is the longest information blackout ever imposed by a democratic state. In addition, there are reasons to believe that journalists have been targeted by Israeli Defence Forces. To this day more than 130 have been killed.

This pattern at play for too long in Gaza, is now being replicated elsewhere. In South Lebanon, some 30 villages have been obliterated - not as a result of heavy combat, but in a controlled way, posted on social media. In the West Bank, extremist settlers' violence is forcing many Palestinian farmers and herders off their land. Uprooted olive trees, killed or stolen livestock and torched vehicles, have become part of daily reality in many rural communities. Israeli airstrikes in Jenin and Tulkarem, the first in more than two decades, have added to the destruction of civilian infrastructure left behind by bulldozers earlier this year.

Condemn the 7 October attack in the stronger possible terms

When the 7 October massacre brought gruesome images to our screens of people being beaten to death in their homes, of terrorists raiding a music festival, of charred bodies, we understood the trauma of centuries of pogroms and persecution that the terrorist onslaught triggered. Our immediate reaction was to show full solidarity with the Israeli people, condemn the attacks in the strongest possible term, and support the right of Israel to defend itself within the boundaries of International Law.

Israel should not be consumed by its rage. One horror cannot justify another.

Josep Borrell

When Israel's former defence minister Gallant said on 9 October 2023 that Gaza would have "no food, no electricity, no water" because Israel was fighting "human animals and would act accordingly", we pleaded that Israel should not be consumed by its rage. One horror cannot justify another. When self-defence started looking more and more like revenge, our appeals grew louder, but we doubled down on our commitment to Israel's security.

After a few weeks, senior Israeli officials started speaking of a 'new Nakba', the displacement in 1948 of 700 thousand Palestinians from what became Israel. Many of these refugees fled to Gaza, where they make up two-thirds of the population. In January, twelve government ministers participated in a mass rally for the resettlement of Gaza. And last week, we heard that Northern Gaza had been emptied of civilians, who would not be allowed to return. Some of these illegal and immoral ideas are obviously starting to become reality.

Furthermore, the Israeli Knesset adopted in October a law banning the UN agency established by the General Assembly in response to the displacement of 1948, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. It was meant to last a few years until the refugee problem is resolved, but in the absence of a political solution, it has become the lifeline for millions of Palestinians across the occupied territory. The EU has condemned the law, the UN Security Council has reaffirmed UNRWA's indispensable role as a service provider, especially in the current circumstances, as we saw in the recent polio vaccination campaign. But there are no signs that any of these appeals are being heeded.

The list of pleas that fell on deaf ears in Israel is too long to recount

To heed international humanitarian law, to comply with binding orders of the International Court of Justice, to ensure humanitarian access, to agree to President Biden's ceasefire proposal, to allow international journalists and UN-mandated investigators to enter Gaza… Looking back, the list of pleas that fell on deaf ears in Israel is now too long to recount.

The rules-based world order has already been on life support since Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. After Gaza, it is hanging by a thread.

Josep Borrell

The rules-based world order based on international law has already been on life support since Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. After Gaza, it is hanging by a thread.

The widespread disregard for international humanitarian law by all belligerents in the Middle East, including Israel, undermines the very foundation the European Union was built on: the rule of law to protect the weak against the strong. For the EU, this principle is not only fundamental - it is existential. As is freedom of information and accountability.

We should be under no illusion: this humanitarian catastrophe in our neighbourhood will come to haunt us at home. The ripple effect of crises abroad often comes with a delay, but also with a vengeance. The repercussions on Europe, in terms of migration, internal security, social tension, racism against Jews, Muslims, Arabs etc. are already starting to make themselves felt, as we saw in the streets of Amsterdam last week.

We need to acknowledge that the approach we have used for over a year with the Israeli government has failed.

Josep Borrell

We can see the warning signs and should not ignore them. Looking forward, we need to acknowledge that the approach we have used for over a year with the Israeli government has failed.

Applying international rules without distinction

Upholding the rules-based world order starts by applying its rules without distinction and defending the institutions mandated to implement them. This applies to the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly as well as to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, UNRWA and all UN Agencies.

In other situations where these international rules are routinely violated, we have put numerous sanctions in place - from visa bans and terrorist listings to import restriction and economic sanctions. Until now Israel has been spared from any meaningful consequences.

This has to change. This is why I have proposed an import ban on illegal settlement products, based on the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, similar to the existing import ban on products from occupied Ukrainian territories - because even-handedness is the lynchpin of Europe's credibility.

I have also requested to the EU special representative for human rights an assessment of Israel's compliance with its Association Agreement with the EU, which I will present to our Member States soon. Based on this assessment, I will propose to EU Member States to suspend the political dialogue with Israel. After a year of unheeded pleas, we cannot continue with business as usual.