Following the Wednesday night shooting deaths of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar was quick to point the finger at the European politicians he believed were responsible for the murders.
“There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder,” he stated. “Leaders and officials of numerous nations and international organizations, particularly those from Europe, also engage in this incitement.”
This week, the Israeli government launched a large ground attack in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has closed off from all humanitarian supplies for over three months, drawing extraordinary criticism from some of its most ardent European backers. This week, despite issuing new evacuation orders for the northern part of the Strip, the pressure forced Israel to permit some supplies into the enclave.
The operation, known as “Gideon’s Chariots,” would cause “the displacement of most of the population” in the Palestinian area, according to an IDF official earlier in May.
How is Gaza’s humanitarian crisis affecting diplomacy?
The grave humanitarian situation in Gaza was one factor contributing to Israel’s increasing diplomatic isolation. Over the last week, there has been evidence that when it is widely accepted that a war crime is being committed, many people may suddenly join the cause and support measures that were unimaginable just a year and a half ago.
Since early March, Israel has kept the broken enclave under siege, preventing the entry of food, housing, and medical supplies into the Strip while resuming its military offensive. Fourteen thousand undernourished children in the coastal enclave are in actual danger of starvation by the end of the year, the UN said Wednesday.
Since Hamas and its collaborators carried out the October 7 terrorist assaults, Israeli soldiers have murdered almost 53,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The escalating diplomatic tensions are indicative of what appears to be a tipping point between Israel and some of its former supporters in Europe and the wider West.
What did Netanyahu allege about France and the UK?
It is these criticisms, Saar said, that fed into a climate of anti-Israeli feeling that led directly to the two staffers’ deaths.
Sara Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, two embassy staff members, were shot and killed as they were leaving the Capital Jewish Museum. Elias Rodriguez, 31, who is accused of killing the couple, yelled “Free Palestine!” as police arrived to take him into custody, according to witnesses.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly repeated Saar’s remarks, accusing France, Canada, and the UK in particular of “emboldening Hamas” by calling for Israel to stop its continuing campaign in Gaza and for humanitarian supplies to enter the ravaged area earlier this week.
How are Western allies responding to Israeli accusations?
Three nations’ officials vehemently disagreed with Netanyahu’s assertion, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot calling it “absurd and slanderous.” “Unwaveringly committed to Israel’s security” was what he stressed Paris was. Hamas has been classified as a terrorist organization by all three countries.
In response to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, the European Union stated this week that it will be revisiting its Association pact with Israel. The United Kingdom also decided to halt talks on a free trade pact with Israel.
Furthermore, the Trump administration hasn’t done anything to stop the condemnations, even if the US, Israel’s biggest ally, hasn’t been prepared to join the chorus yet.
Trump probably became increasingly frustrated with the Israeli government’s stubbornness, which is why he chose not to meet with Netanyahu during his most recent Middle East travel. Earlier this week, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Middle East Envoy, allegedly pressured Israel and Hamas to accept a new ceasefire plan. Witkoff has been speaking directly with Hamas leadership instead of using middlemen like in prior rounds of discussions.
