Could Europe's pressure bring peace to Gaza?

Editor's note: Wang Jin, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at Northwest University of China. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The European Union attaches great importance to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and supports the promotion of an early breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through political dialogue. The European Union's principled position is that the Palestinian-Israeli issue should be resolved through the two-state solution. The Palestinian State should encompass the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as the capital, and the right of return of Palestinian refugees should be properly managed.

Since the 1980s, the EU has been trying to push for a breakthrough on the Palestinian-Israeli issue through diplomatic means. The EU has been more critical of Israel, opposing Israel's unilateral expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In 2008, after the Eighth Meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council, the bloc released a statement, making the implementation of the two-state solution an important condition for upgrading its relations with Israel. 

In 2013, in an effort to encourage the peace talks under the auspices of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the EU Foreign Affairs Council proposed that such a breakthrough would lead to a "Special Privileged Partnership" with Israel, through which Israel would gain easier access to markets in the EU and receive more investment from European countries.

But after 2014, the U.S.-led Israeli-Palestinian peace talks failed to achieve a breakthrough, and the relationship between Israel and the EU has stalled. Influenced by the stalemate of the peace process, the EU-Israel Association Council, which is responsible for directing their political relations, was suspended in 2013.

Most member states of the EU perceived the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the territories of Palestine, while Jerusalem will become the capital of the future State of Palestine. In 2014, the European Parliament passed a resolution for supporting a Palestinian State. Therefore, any attempts from Israel to annex or occupy the lands in the West Bank and East Jerusalem through the expansion of Jewish settlements, and blockade against the Gaza Strip, are widely criticized by most states in Europe.

Meanwhile, the EU introduced different principles for importing the products made in Israel and in the territories illegally occupied by Israel. The preferential trade rules are applied to the products made inside Israel-own territories, while the products made by the Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank would be restricted from importing. In 2015, the EU required its member states to assign particular labels to the food products from the Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestine territories.

After the war erupted in the Gaza Strip in October last year, some EU member states stand closely with Israel, as France and Germany banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations at home in the name of preventing anti-Semitism. The European Council published several statements to stress Israel's "right to defend itself in line with international and international humanitarian law."

However, the EU's sympathy for Israelis' suffering does not necessarily mean that most European states accept Israel's warfare in the Gaza Strip.

With the continuation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in particular the Israeli military strikes against the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries among innocent people, more and more European countries have criticized Israel.

As the conflict has progressed, European countries have increasingly called on Israel to stop its military operations. At the United Nations General Assembly on October 27, 2023, 120 countries passed a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and demanding that aid be allowed into Gaza. Eight EU countries voted in favor of the resolution, while 15 EU member states abstained. On January 18, 2024, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for an end to Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip while demanding that Hamas must release all hostages.

Against this backdrop, EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borelli openly criticized Israel on January 19, adding that only the two-state solution will bring peace to Gaza. He also revealed that "Hamas was financed by the government of Israel in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah."

It is difficult to assess the extent to which pressure from European countries can influence the decision-making of both Israel and Hamas, but Israel is under increasing diplomatic pressure because of its opposition to Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to reiterate his opposition to the two-state solution on several occasions in recent days, emphasizing that the existence of a Palestinian State poses a serious threat to Israel's security.

In a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden on January 19, Netanyahu reiterated his policy that once the Hamas organization is completely destroyed, Israel will seize control of Gaza in order to avoid the threat that Gaza poses to Israel's security. If Israel really fully occupies Gaza in the future, it is bound to violate the interests of the Palestinians and impact the foundation of future Palestinian-Israeli peace.

The change of attitude of European countries on the Palestinian-Israeli issue means that Israel is facing increasing international pressure. However, since public opinion in Israel is still firmly behind their country's offensive in Gaza, according to a recent survey, Israel will not stop its military operations in Gaza in the near future, and the relationship between Israel and European countries will face an increasingly obvious crisis.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)