Will Europe’s shift on Israel’s war in Gaza change anything?

Will Europe’s shift on Israel’s war in Gaza change anything?

Too little, too late. This was the sentiment echoed among critics in the international community after Europe started taking a new, critical stance on Israel’s war in Gaza in recent weeks. For Palestinians actually in the strip, it is certainly too late, with the death toll from 19 months of war at more than 54,200.

But what of the new stance itself? In late May, the EU announced it would launch a review of its relations with Israel. The move was backed by 17 of 27 states and could lead to a suspension in whole or in part of the EU-Israel agreement, the legal framework that governs their bilateral economic co-operation.

In Germany, new Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned the future of arms sales to Israel; in France, President Emmanuel Macron has been rallying global support to recognise Palestinian statehood; and in the UK, the government issued sanctions against several illegal Israeli settlers and paused trade negotiations.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the motives and timing of Europe’s shifting position on Gaza and asks whether these measures will make any difference to the war. We hear from former German ambassador Heinrich Kreft and Hugh Lovatt, senior Mena policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Editor’s note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our two-minute listener survey. Click here.

Avsnitt(484)

The coronavirus: Unnecessary panic or grave concern?

The coronavirus: Unnecessary panic or grave concern?

On December 31st, 2019 China reported 27 cases of pneumonia from an unknown cause in the city of Wuhan, in central China. The majority of people affected were workers from a local seafood and live ani...

6 Feb 20209min

The Middle East peace plan. Explained

The Middle East peace plan. Explained

Two and a half years after US administration began drafting a plan for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians, it is finally here. Long delayed and often described as dead on arrival, the p...

30 Jan 202017min

Tear gas, fireworks and a new government in Lebanon

Tear gas, fireworks and a new government in Lebanon

After more than three months of protests, Lebanon's politicians agreed on a new government. But this has done little to ease anger on the streets after three months of mass uprisings. Hassan Diab anno...

23 Jan 202015min

Sultan Qaboos: what comes next for Oman?

Sultan Qaboos: what comes next for Oman?

The first signs that something big was happening came a little after noon on Friday when the army and police deployed across Oman. The tensions between the United States and Iran lead many to assume t...

13 Jan 202017min

Will Iran and America go to war?

Will Iran and America go to war?

The United States has killed Iran’s Qassim Suleimani sparking the most serious situation in the Middle East since ISIS took over huge areas of Iraq in 2014. The late head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard...

9 Jan 202025min

A decade in the Middle East, stories that changed the region

A decade in the Middle East, stories that changed the region

The Arab uprisings, the brutal Syrian war, the rise of ISIS, the slide into chaos in Libya and Yemen, the counter revolutions, the crackdowns on protesters in Iraq and Iran, the displacement of millio...

26 Dec 201928min

Stranded seafarers to return home after years

Stranded seafarers to return home after years

In March 2017 the ship Tamim Aldar found itself, along with its crew, abandoned at sea 25 nautical miles off the coast of the UAE. It was one of seven ships owned by Elite Way Marine Services, a compa...

19 Dec 201913min

Journey through the ISIS badlands

Journey through the ISIS badlands

ISIS has dominated headlines for nearly a decade. Even as the groups power has waned the fear it instils has remained. In 2019 ISIS saw its last pocket of territory wiped from the map, ripped from its...

10 Dec 201915min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
svenska-fall
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
p3-krim
blenda-2
flashback-forever
motiv
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
olyckan-inifran
spar
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-vad-fan-hande
grans
dagens-eko
krimmagasinet
politiken
rss-frandfors-horna
spotlight