Resolution on Gaza divides Strasbourg Chamber. Clash over the term genocide

Brussels – The fact that drafting a common text on the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza was a difficult task is shown by the fact that—almost two years before 7 October 2023—the European Parliament has so far shied away from the task. The political groups will put a resolution to the vote for the first time on Thursday, 11 September, and negotiations are intense. The risk of running aground on irreconcilable points of view is very high, starting with the question “genocide yes” or “genocide no”. 

The socialist family insists on recognising the genocidal intent of Israeli military action—at the cost of rifts with the moderate right. The Democratic Party’s MEP, Lucia Annunziata, stated it clearly in the chamber: “If to get out of the impasse we are in today we have to divide on genocide, then let’s divide.” The S&D group leader, Iratxe Garcia Perez, is also sure that the more than 64,000 Palestinian deaths, the blockade on humanitarian aid, the forced evacuations and the forced occupations constitute genocide, although she remains cautious: “What is happening is genocide. If there are problems with the way we call it, we will negotiate. I am willing to negotiate,” the Spanish socialist said in the morning. 

Those who do not seem willing to compromise are the 46 members of the European Left group: “What we want is a clear condemnation of the genocide, support for the International Criminal Court” and “sanctions against Netanyahu”, as listed by co-chairman Martin Schirdewan. The text deposited by the group also includes a harsh criticism of the leaders of the European institutions, who are guilty of “prolonged silence and lack of clear condemnation” of the crimes committed by Israel, a demand for a total arms embargo on Tel Aviv, and the “immediate termination” of the EU-Israel agreement in its entirety.

Looking at the numbers, the ambitious text proposed by the radical left is unlikely to be accepted by the chamber. On the other hand, the motions put on the table by the right and far-right groups—Conservatives (ECR) and Patriots (PfE)—do not contain any element capable of increasing the pressure on Netanyahu’s government. On the contrary, ECR calls for the parliament to “reject the unfounded accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” and both encourage “continued cooperation” with Tel Aviv under the Association Agreement. 

Most likely, the compromise will be reached in the centre, between the Populars and Socialists, with the support of the Renew Liberals and the Greens. On the issue of genocide, the official line of the former is that “it is not up to the European Parliament to decide,” but to the “procedures underway in international bodies,” while the Greens’ negotiator for the resolution, Villy Søvndal, preferred to speak of “bloodshed”, without resorting to the term genocide. For the rest, the stakes set by liberals and ecologists follow those indicated by S&D: sanctions to extremist Israeli ministers, suspension of the trade pillar of the EU-Israel association agreement and a stop to the sale and transfer of arms to Tel Aviv, as well as an immediate ceasefire and the entry of large-scale humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. 

However, none of these points are included in the text drafted by the EPP. Its leader, Manfred Weber, said this morning that “it does not help to have a debate on the wording, on the word genocide or not,” but that “what matters is to find unity, to find a common approach.” For the populars, the European Parliament should limit itself to appealing for “an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, and an unhindered flow of food and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza,” explained rapporteur Michael Gahler. He added that “there must be no forced evacuation of civilians living in Gaza City.” 

However, the Israeli army has already ordered the immediate evacuation of Gaza City. And as for the other demands, the EU heads of state and government, along with the High Representative, have been repeating them like a broken record for months, without any effect. The risk, as Socialist leader Perez fears, is that the EPP presents the other groups with an “empty resolution” that “says the same thing we have been hearing for the last few months, which is nothing.” Ultimately, that the EU Parliament will indeed prove incapable of doing its part to put an end to the suffering of more than one million Palestinian civilians—genocide or not.