Enough talk. The West needs to do much more to curb Israel

People gather in Retiro Park in Madrid to show their support for Palestine. Getty

We’ve reached a sort of tipping point in the way political leaders in the West are reacting to Israel’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza. It’s maddening for two reasons: that it took this long to get an official response from western capitals; and that, once the magnitude of the tragedy became clear, the responses have been so decidedly ineffectual.

The nightmare in Gaza has been unfolding for 22 months. During this entire time, Israel’s use of violence and its punishment of innocent Palestinians has been unrelenting. Early on, Israel’s intent became clear as they demolished hospitals, universities and entire neighbourhoods, using 2,000-pound bombs; forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes; and ordered electricity and water cut off and blocked the entry of food and medical supplies.

All this was known in 2023, and yet no tangible action was taken. Back then, when a ceasefire was called for, then-US secretary of state Antony Blinken told me that a ceasefire would be deplorable, and the US would not support such a move. In mid-2024, when the UN Security Council twice voted on a ceasefire resolution, only the US opposed it. A third attempt at a ceasefire resolution introduced by the US passed, but it was never acted upon, because despite former US president Joe Biden disingenuously saying Israel had agreed to this resolution, he knew they had not. The entire effort was nothing more than a public relations stunt.

The world has long known that the war on Gaza’s people had to end and yet other than voting on dead-end UN resolutions, they did nothing

The bottom line is that the world has long known that the war on Gaza’s people had to end and yet other than voting on dead-end UN resolutions, they did nothing. Worse still, they continued to sell weapons to Israel. So, what has changed?

The pictures of devastation and eyewitness testimonies, a staple for those who have been following the news on social media, are now featured in mainstream media. As a result, it has become more difficult for the manufacturers of Israeli hasbara to convince the public that the devastation is exaggerated and the stories of human suffering are fabricated.

In most European countries, the percentage of those who support Israel’s actions in Gaza has fallen to less than one third. Despite the effort of Israeli propagandists, the reason behind this sharp decline in support for Israel isn’t the large number of Muslim immigrants in Western Europe, nor is it anti-Semitism.

What has changed is that the European and American publics now know and are horrified by what Israel is doing in Gaza. They are rejecting the excuses offered by their leaders, who had hoped they would not need to respond with anything more than an occasional UN vote of disapproval, expressions of concern, or toothless condemnations of isolated Israeli acts.

Demonstrators attend a rally challenging the British government's proscription of "Palestine Action" under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9. Reuters

As the pressure has grown – with pictures of starving Palestinian children and aerial photos of mass devastation now dominating media coverage of the war on Gaza – western leaders are struggling to find ways to react. Most disturbing is that their motivation appears to be more a need to be seen as acting than finding ways to actually bring about change.

For example, the British threat to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire is hollow at best. The German threat to review cultural and trade ties amounts to the same. And the continuing lame calls for “renewed negotiations leading to a two-state solution” (when it is well known that Israel has no interest in nor feels any pressure to submit to such an outcome). These gestures are more performative than effective. Even if the entire UN (except, of course, the US) were to recognise a Palestinian State, little would change on the ground, except possibly enraging the Israelis to take more drastic measures in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

(Right-Left) Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories; Riyad Mansour, Minister of Palestine; and Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, Foreign Minister of Colombia; attend the Emergency Ministerial Conference on Palestine at the San Carlos Palace in Bogota, Colombia, on July 15. Getty Images

At this point, what is required – to end what many deem to be a genocide, save lives and restore respect for international law and some level of sanity to the region – is for western nations to take concrete steps to punish Israel and demand changes in policy. These must include an end to the assault on Gaza, a ceasefire and withdrawal of Israel forces, and allowing the entry of international peacekeepers and aid, and the start of reconstruction efforts.

While the above steps are in line with the Arab peace plan, a group of 30 nations meeting in Colombia have gone a step further by endorsing a comprehensive package of proposals designed to end the “the era of impunity … and enforce international law”, with 13 of the participants agreeing to measures that would prohibit the transfer of arms and other forms of support to Israel that enable Israel’s assault on Gaza and violations of law in the West Bank. Calling themselves The Hague Group, they pledge concrete actions “to ensure justice for victims of crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

They will bring their compact to the UN in September urging other nations to join them. Instead of hollow declarations of recognition or calls for renewed negotiations for a two-state solution, this is the reaction needed to end Israel’s crimes.