Under heavy criticism after a summer that exposed a weak Europe – especially in the face of Donald Trump's United States – Ursula von der Leyen tried to rally lawmakers to unity and action on Wednesday, September 10. "In a world in which many major powers [are] either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe (...), a world of imperial ambitions and imperial wars, (...) Europe must fight," the Commission president declared during her State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "Or do we want to just fight between ourselves? To be paralyzed by our divisions," she continued.

There was one issue on which she decided, on Wednesday, to set aside these divisions: Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, ongoing for nearly two years in response to Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, and against which protests have multiplied across Europe. After Israeli raids in Qatar targeting leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement, she knew expectations were high regarding the future of the Palestinian territory and could scarcely remain as reserved as she had until now. "What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world," she acknowledged, "and I know that for many citizens, Europe's inability to agree on a common way forward is equally painful. They are asking how much worse things must get before there is unity of response."

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