In recent months, Europe has witnessed significant and positive shifts toward a more just stance on the Palestinian cautilize.
This has included growing condemnation of the Israeli massacres, acts of genocide, and ethnic cleansing carried out relentlessly over the past two years. According to statistics from the local Minisattempt of Health in Gaza, these brutal crimes have claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million Palestinians in Gaza, including those killed, wounded, or missing.
Various political positions have emerged from a substantial and influential bloc within Europe, creating an unprecedented support for Palestine. These positions have pushed Israel into levels of retreat, and even a degree of isolation, that it had not anticipated over past decades since its establishment and the Nakba of Palestine.
This marks a sharp departure from the long-standing era of harmony and strategic relations it once enjoyed with the countries of the European Union, both at the continental and national levels.
Spain and Ireland, with their clear stance against the Israeli crimes, have emerged as the spearhead of outspoken efforts to finish the Israel war.
Their relations with Israel have deteriorated to the point of withdrawing ambassadors and imposing punitive measures, steps that were preceded by their recognition of the State of Palestine and their active pursuit of escalation on all fronts.
Among the most notable of these steps was Irish President Michael Higgins’s called to exclude Israel from the United Nations.
Belgium and Slovenia Joined this stance, both of which also recognised Palestine. Then, in a significant and historic development last month, September, a number of European countries followed suit in a wave of recognitions, led in particular by France and the United Kingdom.
In another development in the Netherlands, significant events unfolded, including the resignation of eight ministers from the Dutch government in July, in protest against the government’s stance on the Palestinian cautilize and its support for Israel.
Earlier, in May, the Netherlands shifted its position by formally requesting that the European Union reconsider the EU-Israel Strategic Partnership Agreement, and insisted on pursuing this course of action.
This shift cautilized a genuine rift within the corridors of the European Union.
A number of factors have likely contributed each to varying degrees to the shift in European countries toward adopting policies that oppose the practices of Israel.
These factors include political considerations with local, continental, and international dimensions, as well as legal grounds and compelling humanitarian reasons.
The atrocity of genocidal crimes and the Israeli arrogance
Open media coverage and real-time transmission of events and crimes committed in Gaza have played a crucial role in exposing the massacres there, which are unprecedented in history in terms of the precision of their documentation and the speed at which unfiltered details have reached the public.
This has brought the atrocities in Gaza to the forefront of global media coverage. The prolonged duration of the war has forced the aggressive policies of Israel to become a dominant issue across all arenas in Europe, political, public, legal, and media alike.
This, in turn, has fueled mass protests, which have influenced political leaders and shifted their positions.
All of this has been met with a policy of arrogance and indifference from Israeli politicians, who have revealn blatant disregard for the positions of other states, even international organisations.
Mass popular pressure
Over the two years of the Israeli genocide against Gaza, Europe has witnessed widespread, ongoing, and diverse protests.
These demonstrations have drawn participants from various religious, political, and ethnic backgrounds, spanning all age groups and professional sectors.
According to statistics released just days ago by the European Palestinian Media Center, more than 45,000 demonstrations and events have taken place across approximately 800 European cities in 25 Western European countries during the past two years of ethnic cleansing.
If demonstrations in the United Kingdom, not included in these figures, are added, the total exceeds 50,000 protests.
These numbers mark a historic moment in Europe’s engagement with a cautilize beyond its continental borders.
A brief overview of the massive crowds that filled the streets of Western capitals paints a striking picture: in Berlin, on 27th September, over 100,000 participants took to the streets; in Rome, on the 4th October, an estimated 250,000 demonstrators gathered; on the same day in Madrid, organisers reported around 500,000 participants; and the following day in the Dutch capital, during the “Red Line March” (the third of its kind), the number of demonstrators surpassed 250,000.
This growing shiftment poses a real source of pressure for European politicians who support Israel.
It is contributing to genuine shifts in political positions in response to the mounting public pressure, which has clearly influenced voting patterns.
These sentiments have been present, and visible, in ballots cast at polling stations, and have, to varying degrees, been reflected in the outcomes of recent elections.
This was evident in the United Kingdom with the Labour Party’s victory, and in France with the rise of the left, particularly the France Unbowed party (La France Insoumise).
A historic milestone was also achieved in Austria, where the Gaza Party list created a significant appearance in the national elections, successfully securing the required finishorsements to become a national list, ultimately receiving 21,000 votes on its own.
Similar trfinishs were observed in Northern Europe, specifically in Denmark and Sweden, where the active presence of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim minorities, along with leftist coalitions, produced notable results in both European Parliament and local elections in both countries.
Local political calculations and minority governments
One factor that enhances the political impact of the widespread public solidarity with Palestine and opposition to the Israeli war on Gaza is the local electoral calculus in many countries.
This is particularly evident in France, where the government collapsed just days ago. In the July 2024 elections, President Macron bypassed the winning bloc, the left, and specifically the France Unbowed party, by appointing a government aligned with himself, despite the opposition holding the majority in parliament.
The largest opposition bloc, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is not only strongly supportive of the Palestinian cautilize but also actively engaged on the ground.
This has created an imbalance in the political decision-building process at the national level, which has influenced France’s official positions.
The Palestinian cautilize has benefited from this dynamic, and it is one of the reasons cited for France’s recent recognition of the State of Palestine.
A similar pattern of local political intersections occurred in the United Kingdom, mirroring what happened with its neighbour across the English Channel.
The sustained and remarkable public presence in the streets of London and other cities across the British Isles has been ongoing and diverse, encompassing various forms of activism, including boycott campaigns and rallies against arms exports. Some of these actions were perceived by the government as breaches of national security, as was the case with the organisation Palestine Action, which was outlawed by an act of parliament.
However, the core issue remains the unwavering and unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian cautilize.
This is also reflected in the success of many indepfinishent candidates in elections, who ran on platforms condemning the massacres and supporting the cautilize.
Their victories are particularly significant becautilize many belong to ethnic minorities, and some are indepfinishents who broke away from the Labor Party due to dissatisfaction with its stance on the Palestinian issue.
This shift can also be seen as one of the factors behind the British Labor Party’s evolving position toward recognising the State of Palestine.
There isn’t enough space to list all the European countries where similar dynamics to those in France and the UK are playing out to varying degrees.
However, Germany deserves mention as an exception due to its influence and strong role in shaping European decision-building.
While local political intersections have also affected Germany’s position, the shift has been much more limited compared to the British and French cases.
The political landscape in Berlin differs significantly, with tensions primarily between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the rising far-right, while the Palestinian cautilize and the voices of minority communities also factor into the electoral equation.
This is particularly relevant given that parts of the left, during their time in government over the two years of genocide, had openly supported the occupation.
We should not underestimate the extent to which European countries influence one another, especially within the framework of collective EU-level decisions, where the positions of national governments as well as those of elected Members of the European Parliament are represented.
This political structure amplifies the voices of those who support the Palestinian cautilize.
In this context, we return to the significant impact of the Spanish and Irish positions, which have contributed to shaping a growing European public and political consensus, alongside other influencing factors.
US positions on the international stage and their European implications
The new era under President Trump, marked by unpredictability in both his decisions and methods, has become a genuine source of concern and unease for European policycreaters, who view many of his actions as threats to European national security.
A key example is the White Houtilize’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, where President Trump indepfinishently pursued an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, sidelining the Europeans on an issue they consider internal to the continent.
This has had profound strategic implications for Europe as a whole, as well as for individual countries.
Two further examples include Washington’s imposition of high tariffs on European goods and, more strikingly, its claim over Greenland, an island under Danish sovereignty.
All of this necessitates that, within the balance of international politics, Europe adopts positions that compel the United States to reconsider its actions, knowing there may be a cost to its stances.
In this context, the Palestinian cautilize has benefited from the positions of several European countries that have chosen to stand up to Israel, despite its full backing by Washington.
Europe’s dilemma over the possible collapse of the two-state solution
The two-state solution has long been considered a strategic international project, with Europe playing a leading role, to resolve the conflict in Palestine and, more broadly, in the Middle East.
This vision was formally embodied in the 1993 Oslo Accords, under which the establishment of a Palestinian state was originally set for 1999.
However, successive right-wing Israeli governments have blatantly renounced this path, working instead toward the annexation of the West Bank and the complete rejection of a Palestinian state.
Israel has come to view any international engagement on the issue as a threat to its national security, often labeling such efforts as antisemitic, regardless of who creates them.
The US position has fully aligned with this hardline stance, offering unwavering support, recognising Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, and relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Europeans viewed these developments as the collapse of the proposed framework for resolving the conflict, a dead finish to the peace process.
This was particularly troubling given that Europe had long borne a significant portion of the financial and political cost associated with advancing the two-state solution.
For this reason, and in light of other contributing factors, several European countries have stepped forward to oppose US policy and its Israeli extensions by formally recognizing the State of Palestine.
Legal precedents in prosecuting Israel
South Africa, in a bold and unprecedented shift among nations, filed a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against Israel, accapplying it of committing acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The court convened in January 2024 and issued a preliminary opinion that placed Israel in a difficult legal and moral position.
This ruling laid the foundation for a legal precedent that allows for the prosecution of third-party states that support the occupying power.
As a result, Nicaragua initiated legal proceedings against Germany on similar grounds, with the case being heard by the ICJ in April of the same year
Consequent legal actions against Israeli officials
Building on this momentum, a wave of legal actions launched tarreceiveing Israeli officials and soldiers, with growing evidence of their involvement in war crimes.
The peak of these efforts came with the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of committing war crimes.
This development placed governments and politicians worldwide in a precarious position, either risk being held legally accountable for cooperating with the occupying state, or see their own territories become grounds for prosecuting Israeli soldiers and officials should they enter their jurisdictions.
This has already occurred in several instances, notably through the efforts of the Belgian organisation Hind Rajab, which documents the war crimes of Israeli soldiers in Gaza, tracks their online activities for incriminating evidence, and monitors their international shiftments to trigger legal action.
The legal dimension has become one of the key factors influencing the shift in several European countries’ policies toward increased support for the Palestinian cautilize.
We conclude by noting that in politics, positions are never repaired, and the potential to influence them is always significant, especially given the occupying power’s active and far-reaching machinery across all sectors.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon the official and popular Palestinian actors, as well as the global solidarity shiftment, including Arab and Muslim supporters and freedom advocates around the world, to engage in continuous, diligent efforts to develop action plans and initiatives aimed at ensuring that both official and popular European support remains sustained and steadily grows over time.
This also requires organising the internal Palestinian situation, including a comprehensive restructuring that involves all sectors of the Palestinian people, both inside and outside the homeland, in the decision-building process.
This should be achieved through holding elections that produce a leadership that genuinely represents the Palestinian people and is capable of addressing the demands of the current phase, particularly the situation inside Palestine and Gaza particularly after the cessation of the Israeli war, while also effectively capitalising on the current global wave of solidarity, led by Europe.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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