EU seeks ceasefire in Gaza

More than 140 deaths in fierce fighting.

Member states face UN vote on Palestine’s status

The European Union has launched a united call for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prevent the conflict in Gaza from escalating into an all-out war. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and a number of national leaders have expressed “deep concern” at the fighting, which has so far cost the lives of 140 Palestinians and five Israelis since Israel killed a Palestinian militant leader last Wednesday (14 November). EU foreign ministers called for a ceasefire when they met on Monday (19 November). 

All European responses have emphasised Israel’s right to protect its population from rocket attacks from Gaza. There have, however, been some differences in emphasis. Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister, has said that “responsibility is shared”. His British counterpart, William Hague, said: “It is Hamas that bears…the principal responsibility for starting all of this.” Nonetheless, Hague warned Israel that “a ground invasion of Gaza would lose Israel a lot of the international support and sympathy that they have in this situation”.

Comments by the EU, national officials and MEPs have mainly focused on the immediate situation, with little reference to the potential impact on relations with Europe. In 2008-09, an Israeli invasion of Gaza killed almost 1,500 Palestinians. After the conflict, the EU froze a planned upgrade in relations with Israel.

The conflict could threaten EU-funded infrastructure and projects in Gaza. The European External Action Service (EEAS) says that, to date, EU-supported projects have not been hit. In 2011, the European Commission said that Israeli attacks over the past decade had destroyed development projects in Palestine for which the EU had provided €29.4 million in funding.

Mediation efforts

The EU has not been at the forefront of international mediation efforts. Ashton has spoken with Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Ban Ki-moon, the UN’s secretary-general, but it is Egypt that is leading efforts to mediate an end to the crisis. A senior EU official said that the EU did not seek to dissuade Turkey from sending its foreign minister, Ahmet Davutog?lu, to Gaza on Tuesday (20 November).

The emir of Qatar and Egypt’s prime minister both visited Gaza before Davutog?lu, decisions seen as a political boost for Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. The EU has no official contacts with Hamas, which it lists as a terrorist organisation. “We are against all these visits,” said Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the EU-recognised Palestinian Authority, on Friday (16 November). “If they want to help Gaza, they should come through the authorities, through the legal authority,” he said.

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