The decision was intended to be primarily symbolic. But above all, it has underlined the deep divisions within the European Union on the burning Israeli-Palestinian issue. Almost eight months of war in Gaza have wiped out a large part of this territory and caused more than 35,000 deaths, the vast majority among civilians. Following this, on Tuesday, May 28, Spain and Ireland, together with Norway (outside the EU), recognized the State of Palestine. Slovenia is expected to do so on June 4. "We hope that our recognition and our reasons contribute to other Western countries following this path, because the more we are, the more strength we will have to impose a ceasefire, to achieve the release of the hostages held by Hamas, to relaunch the political process that can lead to a peace agreement," said Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez when announcing the decision in Madrid, on May 22.

In the preceding weeks, the head of Spain's Socialist government had attempted to rally other countries to his initiative. To no avail. Still sensitive in handling Israel 80 years after the Holocaust, Germany is not interested in such recognition, nor is the United States or the United Kingdom. "France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on the process," said French minister of foreign affairs Stéphane Séjourné.

Such has been the mood of the European Union and its member states ever since the Hamas attack of October 7, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and another 252 taken hostage. Shocked by the massacre, the 27 member states initially insisted in unison on Israel's right to defend itself, even if this meant tensions in the Middle East. But disagreements soon emerged. At the European Council meeting on October 27, 2023, when the bombardment of Gaza had already claimed more than 7,000 lives, the EU 27 were torn over whether to call for a ceasefire. After tense debates, they settled for calling for "humanitarian pauses." Berlin in particular refused to talk about a ceasefire, so as not to limit Israel's right to retaliate.

Impotence and fatalism

On the same day, the consensus painstakingly forged in Brussels was shattered in parallel discussions at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Eight European member states approved the resolution calling for an "immediate humanitarian truce" in the Gaza Strip (France, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal and Malta), while four voted against (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia) and a majority of EU member states (15 countries, including Germany and Poland) abstained.

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