What is the best way to defend Israel?
The day after the European Union and Great Britain increased pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza following the military occupation, Tel Aviv responded in the worst possible way: with intimidation against a European diplomatic delegation in Jenin, in the northern West Bank. The situation on the ground, and also from a diplomatic perspective, appears to be deteriorating rapidly, and everything is pushing European countries to take more forceful measures against Israel.
For the moment, Spain, Italy, and Portugal have recalled their Israeli ambassadors to seek explanations about the events. The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, also demanded explanations and an investigation into events that she considered "unacceptable." In any case, everything points to this being a new provocation by Israel, which seems willing to cross all red lines in its response to the Hamas attacks of October 2023.
Meanwhile, there are no signs on the ground that the situation of hunger and lack of basic supplies will be resolved in the short term, because aid is only arriving in dribs and drabs. The UN warning that up to 14,000 babies could die in the coming hours if aid is not released, along with the images arriving day in and day out from the Strip of desperate children clamoring for a bowl of food, only fuel international outrage.
The European Union should review the association agreement with Israel, which in its second paragraph states that it is based on the principle of respect for human rights, which is clearly not being respected in Gaza. Severing relations and sanctions always leave wounds and can lead to injustice, but they are the only real tool of pressure available to European democracies. Doing nothing would be tantamount to being complicit in the daily killings caused by the Israeli army.
From this perspective, the closure of the Acción office in Tel Aviv, announced by the Catalan government, is nothing more than a modest gesture in practice, but one laden with political significance. Catalonia has always aspired to a privileged relationship with Israel, and some sectors of nationalism have reflected this, but the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu's government leave them with increasingly less room for manoeuvre.
In fact, one should question whether the best way to defend Israel right now is to side with Netanyahu. Netanyahu's predecessor as prime minister, fellow conservative Ehud Olmert, told the BBC that "what Israel is doing in Gaza right now is very close to being a war crime," and he advocated an immediate halt to the war. These statements demonstrate that opposition to Netanyahu comes not only from the left, but from within the Likud itself. And that continuing the war is the only way Netanyahu has found to stay in power.