Israel’s war against Iran overshadows Gaza catastrophe

Brussels – The European Union continues to sit on the sidelines in the Middle East crisis, which is spiralling ever more dangerously after Israel opened yet another war front by directly attacking Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic of being one step away from the atomic bomb.

With the eyes of the world focused on Tehran and Tel Aviv, the umpteenth conflict unleashed by Benjamin Netanyahu distracts attention from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza: the UN conference on Palestine called for by Emmanuel Macron is cancelled and postponed sine die. But from the squares of Brussels and The Hague comes a strong demand for ‘red lines’ against violations of international law by the Jewish state.

Europe without a voice

The sudden escalation between Israel and Iran has abruptly attracted the attention of the political world and will dominate the agenda of the ongoing G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Upon her arrival at the summit, Ursula von der Leyen reiterated this morning (16 June) “Europe’s commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East“, emphasising that “Israel has the right to defend itself“, even pre-emptively, from existential threats to its security.

According to the president of the twelve-star executive, “Iran is the main source of instability in the region” and Tehran “can never have a nuclear weapon”, even if, for now, there is no evidence that the Islamic Republic is building atomic devices. The common denominator of the comments repeated in recent days by EU summits and various European leaders is the request for “moderation” and “de-escalation”.

High Representative Kaja Kallas convened an emergency Foreign Affairs Council in virtual format tomorrow. The chancelleries are concerned about the possible eruption of a wider regional conflict, and some of them (especially Berlin and Paris, in coordination with London) are reportedly trying to pursue a diplomatic initiative behind the scenes, in the hope that negotiations on the ayatollahs’ nuclear programme could resume as early as next week.

However, according to experts and observers, the chances that Europe can actually get a look in this game are near zero. The real interlocutors are not on the Old Continent, but elsewhere. One is surely the US President Donald Trump, who is also leaving the door open for dialogue with the Islamic Republic, even though among the cadres murdered by the Israeli army (IDF) was precisely the Iranian chief negotiator.

Recognition of Palestine moves further away

Among the victims of the recent military escalation is also the Gaza Strip, which now risks falling into oblivion or at least sliding down the list of European governments’ priorities. For logistical, physical, security, and political reasons, French President Emmanuel Macron cancelled the UN conference on Palestine, which he announced last month, originally scheduled for this week at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The event, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, was supposed to serve as a political catalyst to accelerate the two-state solution, via the recognition of the Palestinian state by European countries and the normalisation of Arab nations’ diplomatic relations with Israel. The tenant of the Elysée Palace, however, says he is determined to host the conference, which will be rescheduled for the near future: “This delay does not call into question our determination to pursue the implementation of the two-state solution,” he said on Friday, reiterating “my determination to recognise a Palestinian state“. “This determination is total and is a sovereign decision,” he added.

In recent times, Monsieur le Président has been increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s choices, going so far as to claim that the violence of the campaign in the Strip represents “a betrayal of Israel’s history and identity” that will prove “dangerous” for Tel Aviv’s own security. In response, he has been accused of leading “a crusade against the Jewish state“, while both Israel and the US repeat that recognising Palestine after the 7 October 2023 attacks would be a “reward for terrorism.“

Macron has reiterated that he does not support the Operation ‘Rampant Lion’ (whose name, referring to the lion in the flag of pre-revolutionary Iran, winks at an eventual regime change in Tehran). But given that it has opened this new front against the Islamic Republic, argues Monsieur le Président, Bibi should at least grant a ceasefire in Gaza, setting the stage for the start of ‘political discussions’ for a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian question.

Currently, 147 out of 193 UN members officially recognise the State of Palestine. These include 11 EU members (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Hungary), but all G7 countries (among others) are still missing from the list. For months, Macron has been saying that he wants to proceed with recognition on the French side, provided that this is the basis for a serious and lasting peace process.

What red lines?

However, apart from political moves by some chancelleries and (a few) cosmetic measures at the level of the Twenty-Seven (e.g. the revision of the EU-Israel Association Agreement), there do not seem to be any real “red lines” to condition Western support for Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government, in light of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip. Von der Leyen says she had “insisted and urged that humanitarian aid, which is currently not reaching Gaza, be allowed” during a phone call with the Israeli premier, adding that she will carefully review the facts to assess the situation.

Contrary to what is falsely claimed in some of the propaganda videos circulated on social media by the Tel Aviv Foreign Ministry, however, humanitarian assistance for the population of the Strip is still blocked, while the incidents in which dozens of Palestinians are killed daily by the IDF continue to occur.

Powerful. There were over 100,000 of us in Brussels today.

At the same time, 150,000 people demonstrated in The Hague.

Europeans reject the complicity of their governments.

We drew a red line. Israel has crossed it.

Embargo now. #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/xolXeZ3tkM

– Marc Botenga MEP (@BotengaM) June 15, 2025

So, over the weekend, floods of citizens gathered to peacefully protest against the ‘complicity’ of Europe, which continues to supply Tel Aviv with weapons and to buy military technology and surveillance systems made in Israel, and explicitly demand that red lines be clearly drawn.

A double demonstration held in parallel between Brussels and The Hague brought more than 200,000 people to the streets (110,000 and 150,000 respectively, according to the organisers) to call for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza, an end to impunity for the Israeli leadership, including the arrest of the prime minister (wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity) and the imposition of sanctions against the Jewish state, as already done by several non-EU countries.