Western diplomacy quickly supported Israel, which fell victim to Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7. But the Jewish state’s intensifying response is pushing its allies to call for a suspension of the conflict.
Allies starting to make their voices heard. After Hamas’s bloody attack on October 7, Western countries in the Arab world faced a barrage of criticism for supporting Israel’s retaliation. But in early November, the position of the United States and European countries changed slightly, with several officials now condemning Israel for the intensity of its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Let’s rewind. On October 7, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip, which it administers. In retaliation, Israel declared war to “destroy” the terrorist movement and relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip, home to some 2.4 million Palestinians. The international community is then divided into three camps: those countries that support Israel, those that support Hamas, and those that claim some form of neutrality and demand a ceasefire.
Fast and strong support for Israel
Western countries immediately showed their support for the Jewish state. “At this point we need to be absolutely clear. We stand with Israel,” Joe Biden said on October 10, calling Hamas attacks “purely evil” and promising military and financial aid to his historic ally. Germany, the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom condemned Hamas and its heinous terrorist attacks “without any ambiguity” in a joint statement issued the same day and pledged to support “Israel’s efforts to defend itself.”
In the following days, American President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took turns visiting Israel. Ursula von der Leyen does the same, but her visit causes discomfort Among EU diplomats, the President of the European Commission does not condition her support on respect for international law and does not take the time to visit the Palestinian territories. And this, just a few days after the announcement that European development aid to the Palestinians would be reviewed.
The French president, who usually mediates quickly and is very proactive in international crises, initially behaved relatively discreetly and only traveled to Israel on October 24th. On this occasion, he also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan. “The situation is extremely complicated. [La France] “has the first Muslim community in Europe and the third Jewish community in the world”, an extremely explosive context that requires a balanced response, analyzes Michel Duclos, former diplomat and special advisor at the Montaigne Institute, for AFP.
“Western diplomacy comes into conflict”
On the Palestinian side, the number of victims of Israeli bombings – as reported by Hamas – is increasing sharply. The continued support of Western governments for Israel is increasingly criticized in public opinion and demonstrations in support of the Palestinians are increasing. “A humanitarian catastrophe appears to be imminent in the Gaza Strip. And as the situation of the Palestinians worsens, Western support for Israel will decline,” the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz predicted in mid-October. “Western diplomacy finds itself caught between legitimate empathy and solidarity with a country ravaged by terrorism and the difficulty of limiting its response,” analyzes Haski, international relations columnist at France Inter.
On the night of October 25th to 26th, Israeli tanks and armored vehicles entered Gaza for the first time. Two days later, the Jewish state announced an “expansion” of its land operations in the enclave. Afterwards, in a joint statement, the leaders of the 27 EU countries expressed their “deepest concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza” and called for “humanitarian corridors” and “pauses” in the delivery of international aid. The USA also supports a “humanitarian pause” to enable the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip.
As the Biden administration continues to show “unwavering” support for Israel and its right to defend itself against the Islamist movement, it is publicly increasing its calls to spare the lives of Palestinian civilians. “The government of Israel should use every measure at its disposal to distinguish between Hamas, terrorists who are legitimate military targets, and civilians, who are not,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement October 29 on CNN. A few days later, according to AFP, a senior American official said that releasing the Hamas hostages “would require a very significant pause in the conflict.”
A humanitarian conference in Paris to apply “pressure”.
Between late October and the first days of November, several deadly Israeli bombings on a refugee camp, several schools housing displaced people, and an ambulance attracted international attention. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is “horrified”. “The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are heartbreaking,” he added of the attack on the ambulance.
Following the Israeli attacks on the United Nations-run Jabaliya camp, France explicitly condemns for the first time since the beginning of the conflict “attacks on United Nations sites and humanitarian personnel.” She also expressed her “astonishment” and “incomprehension” at an Israeli attack that hit the French Institute in Gaza on Friday, November 3rd.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, also announced the organization of a “humanitarian conference” on November 9th in Paris. An opportunity for Israel’s allies to “put pressure on the Jewish state” to “put an end to this bombing campaign,” estimates Rony Brauman, doctor and former president of Doctors Without Borders, on franceinfo.