Europe's Double Standards on Ukraine and Palestine
The contrasting approaches to Ukraine and Palestine undermine the argument invoking European values—values that EU now uses to justify ReArm Plan, all while continuing to ignore massacres in Gaza
The European Union is promoting an unprecedented rearmament plan while remaining silent in the face of crimes committed daily by the Israeli army in Gaza. This week, Israel bombed a UN health center in Gaza, a school sheltering families, and several refugee camps, initiated yet another forced displacement, and announced its intention to annex “large areas.”
On Saturday, a video was released that had been recorded by one of the fifteen humanitarian workers killed by Israeli forces a few days earlier. It shows how their ambulances were clearly marked and had their lights on—yet they were still fired upon.
The United Nations has indicated that since the beginning of this latest offensive in mid-March, Israel has killed or injured an average of one hundred children per day in the Gaza Strip. Neither the President of the European Commission nor the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs has uttered a single word condemning these crimes.
The UN reports that since mid-March, Israel has killed or injured an average of 100 children per day in Gaza.
The Arrest Warrants
For some time now, Benjamin Netanyahu has counted on the European far right as one of his staunchest global allies. On Thursday, the Israeli leader set foot in Europe, meeting in Budapest with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, without much reaction from Brussels. This Monday, he will be received at the White House by Donald Trump.
An arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) hangs over the Israeli Prime Minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Yet the United States disregards the authority of the Hague-based court, and the EU has not seen fit to raise its voice to demand the warrant be enforced. This behavior contrasts starkly with the EU’s position in 2023, when South Africa—despite not being an EU member—was set to host Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS Summit. Like Netanyahu, Putin is subject to an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes.
At the time, the EU reminded South Africa that as a member of the Hague tribunal, it had an obligation to arrest Putin should he set foot in the country, and that his status as a head of state did not grant him immunity. European diplomats even hinted that access to European markets and foreign investment could be jeopardized if South Africa failed to fulfill its obligations. Ultimately, Putin did not attend the summit and sent his Foreign Minister instead.
Europe was firm on the arrest warrant for Putin; in contrast, it softens and even questions the warrant against Netanyahu.
Yet regarding Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, an EU member state, Brussels has made no public demands. In fact, just days earlier, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, emphasized that the EU and Israel are “great partners.”
Europe was unequivocal with Putin’s warrant, but softens the application of the international order when it comes to Netanyahu. Moreover, several European countries have even cast doubt on it, even as Israel carries out ethnic cleansing and further forced displacements. France issued a statement defending a supposed immunity—which does not exist—for the Israeli leader. Germany’s outgoing government said it found it hard to imagine arresting Netanyahu, and the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, and Italy expressed similar views.
This weekend, Belgium’s Prime Minister stated that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he came to Belgium, and Germany’s next chancellor recently said he would invite Netanyahu to Berlin.
The Belgian Prime Minister declared that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he visited Belgian soil.
The European Double Standard
Europe’s double standard plays out week after week. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory, Europe has continuously supplied arms, supported a military response to the aggressor, welcomed over five million Ukrainian refugees, strongly condemned Russian war crimes, imposed sanctions, froze assets, and now demands €800 billion in military spending. Some countries are even proposing sending European troops to Ukraine, without warning of the risks.
In contrast, the response to Israel’s illegal occupation is the opposite. Despite civilian massacres and an apartheid regime, most European countries have for years supplied military equipment to the occupying power, maintained strong commercial and diplomatic ties, awarded contracts to Israeli arms manufacturers, and allowed arms shipments to pass through to Tel Aviv. All of this while Israel, for decades, has maintained a system of segregation that discriminates, denies rights, and represses the Palestinian population—as noted by the International Court of Justice.
Gaza shares the Mediterranean with several European nations, yet Brussels merely calls for a ceasefire. It has decided to maintain its Association Agreement with Israel—even though Article 2 of the agreement requires respect for human rights—and has not promoted sanctions or international initiatives to pressure Netanyahu’s government. During the initial months of massacres, it didn’t even call for an immediate ceasefire, a stance criticized by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Europe’s position on Israel has helped solidify a global framework of impunity, where the military path gains ground.
Over the past year and a half, Israel has bombed Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Iraq, and Yemen. It has expanded its illegal occupation of Syrian territory and continues to carry out attacks in these areas, killing civilians—while its U.S. partner bombs Yemen. None of this has triggered political or legal action from Europe.
In early March, Israel resumed blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza. The EU did not condemn the blockade or the use of starvation as a weapon of war. It merely stated that the move “could potentially have humanitarian consequences.” The blockade remains in effect, and its consequences are now evident: shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. For months, UN rapporteurs and international experts have warned that Israeli leaders’ statements expressing intent to expel or exterminate, along with preventing the entry of survival necessities, are signs of “genocidal intent”—a key element distinguishing genocide from other crimes.
Despite this, no European country has proposed suspending Israel’s membership in the UN General Assembly, as was done with apartheid South Africa. European bodies have not even considered reviewing Israel’s participation in UEFA or Eurovision—both of which expelled Russia in 2022.
In both cases, the EU refuses to act as a bulwark against militarism
Israeli impunity is spreading globally and shaping the international landscape. It has normalized dehumanization, military solutions, and the law of the strongest. It has also led to severe curbs on freedom of expression and protest in countries like the U.S., the UK, and Germany, where defending Palestinian rights is now persecuted, surveilled, and stigmatized, with fines, arrests, and even deportations.
The differences in approach toward Ukraine and Palestine undermine the argument that appeals to European values, which Brussels now uses to justify exceptional rearmament while continuing to ignore the massacres in Gaza. In both cases, though in different ways, the EU refuses to act as a barrier against militarism and war. The effort to strengthen political action remains sidelined.
All EU nations are signatories of the Rome Statute and thus members of the Hague tribunal. They often present themselves as its defenders. That’s why their role is so crucial. In the face of attacks and challenges to the International Criminal Court, the 27 member states should be its staunchest defenders. Instead, Brussels’s complicity and inaction regarding Israel has helped entrench a global framework of impunity, where might makes right and the path of armed force prevails. International law is weaker today than it was yesterday—just like politics.
In choosing not to see, not to denounce, not to act, a position is being taken. A portion of European journalism has also fallen into the trap and grown used to it. Children’s bodies are being pulverized by Israeli bombs. Brussels accepts it—without calculating the global repercussions.
Original article published in elDiario.es / AI-powered translation