Pro-Israel countries, including Germany and Italy, are set to block efforts by Ireland and other member states to take action against Israel over its war in Gaza at today’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
Several member states, also including Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, will not agree for the EU to take action despite a recent review of an EU-Israel trade agreement that found Israel was committing human rights violations in conflict with it.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the EU’s inability to reach a unified position on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a “huge stain” on the union.
Not true. Germany has a very honourable way that it actively chooses to not take: to call for detente, for international observers to do objective fact finding and for the impartial application of international law. They can offer to lead such efforts to ensure impartiality and even offer to send Peacekeeping troops, putting their own soldiers in harm’s way in the most honourable way possible. They can be Israel’s friend without being Israel’s enabler, because friends don’t let friends commit atrocities.