Europe's Gaza protests are starting to have results

Prabowo Subiante, Indonesia's new president, struggled to hide his annoyance. He was speaking at the annual Antalya Forum in Turkey a few weeks ago. For decades, he said, Europe has given us lessons — often with a pointed finger — on how Indonesia should strive for and adhere to international law, democracy and human rights.

In itself, this was not a bad thing, he added, because it helped his country progress in many areas. But (and here it comes) why then does this not apply to Israel?

Why is Europe now suddenly silent and letting this Israeli government break every possible rule of law? 

The Indonesian president is not alone. His criticism of European hypocrisy and double standards are shared around the world.

It is no coincidence South Africa started a case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to have what is happening in Gaza deemed a genocide. The definitive verdict has not yet been rendered, but the court has demanded that Israel do all it can to avoid a genocide. Israel's now nine-week refusal to let food, relief supplies and medicine into Gaza shows that Benjamin Netanyahu's government does not care about those demands.

Such criticism of Europe is not new.

When the Russian army invaded Ukraine, more than half of countries worldwide refused to impose sanctions against Russia. The reason is not that they think this war is right or legal.

Hypocrisy

No, they mainly think the West is hypocritical to ask this of the world now, when it illegally invaded Iraq in 2003, based on lies, and then almost forced those same countries for support. It is clear that the rest of the world takes it less and less that international law only applies to countries not belonging to the West and their friends.

Apparently, the West does not see what the rest of the world does.

However, it would be wrong to talk about the whole of Europe or the whole of the West. There are protests everywhere, including here in Belgium. On Sunday (11 May), tens of thousands of Belgians took to the streets in Brussels to demand an end to the blockade and the war on Gaza.

A week later, on 18 May, a hundred thousand Dutch people held a march through The Hague with the same demands.

Geert Wilders, the de-facto political leader of the Netherlands, wrote on X: "Today demo in Dhaag against Israel + for Hamas. Thousands of confused people draw a red line. I also draw a red line. Against terror and starving their own people by Hamas and for maximum destruction of their murderous infrastructure. And for Israel."

So the rest of the world sees this differently.

But Israeli newspapers also show a different story. A few months back, in a rare moment of criticism, the Israeli army spokesman declared that Hamas could not be defeated militarily. Reports have since appeared showing that this assessment is correct and that even after more than a year and a half of war, Hamas has not even been weakened in numerical strength.

By the way, one need not have the slightest sympathy for Hamas to see that it is not they who are responsible for the massive famine in Gaza. Who is confused here?

The hundreds of thousands of people who take to the streets or otherwise make their voices heard in Europe are not confused. They know very well that the European Union was built on the idea that there should never be another war and there should never be another genocide.

The world order established by Europe and the United States after the devastating Second World War rests on the pillars of international law and human rights. This is what both frontrunners have always defended and spread, or at least tried to spread to the rest of the world. Those who try to convince today's European and American leaders to hold that line when it comes to Israel are not confused. The red line they draw is very clear. 

I am often asked by ordinary people, not just the media, whether it makes sense to keep protesting, and to keep reminding Belgian and European politicians of their responsibilities. Many get discouraged to see how little is moving.

Tipping point?

I reply that I read Israeli newspapers every day, and in them I notice that European protests do get coverage and are thus noticed. Nor should one doubt that Israeli embassies relay every protest to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem. And European politicians are not insensitive to these protests either, even if they often seem not to be.

But then I get the follow-up question — when will we notice any of this? When will come the 'tipping-point' from doing nothing to doing something?

I think we have reached this tipping point just in the past few days.

For about a week now, we have been reading increasing criticism of Israeli and US policy in US newspapers. France, the UK and Canada are suddenly threatening concrete action if Israel continues the blockade and war. Belgian rectors took the lead with the joint demand to suspend the European Association Agreement with Israel.

This was put on the European agenda by the Belgian government, and supported by a majority of other European countries. A resolution was also voted in the chamber for the first time. 

Many will feel that all this does not go far enough. Indeed, that resolution can be criticised.

The decision by the European Foreign Affairs Council to first "investigate" whether or not Israel is in compliance with human rights before it wants to review the association agreement is also more than cynical.

But at the very least, things are moving and politicians are finally taking action. The pressure of the many protests is starting to bear fruit. However, if mass starvation deaths are to be avoided, that pressure will have to be equally stepped up.

Above all, let us hope it will not be too late. 

This year, we turn 25 and are looking for 2,500 new supporting members to take their stake in EU democracy. A functioning EU relies on a well-informed public – you.