24,
November 2014 Israel and the European
Union
A
seismic shift is occurring in European capitals increasingly frustrated by
Israeli’s intransigence towards Palestinian sovereignty, – building more and
more settlements on Palestinian land - and its home demolitions. The European
Union has urged Israel to immediately halt its expansionist policies, end its
illegal occupation and lift the siege of Gaza. Current Israel policy, driven by
right wing ideologues, is fueling much of the intensifying Palestinian rage and
the cycle of unending violence.
Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli analyst and pollster, said,
“Israel is losing Europe and Public opinion has shifted decidedly against
Israel.” There is a growing realization that the soft talk of the US
Administration has been an abject failure and must be replaced with European
economic sanctions.
The antipathy towards Israel has heightened after its
attack on Gaza last summer which resulted in large number of fatalities of
innocent civilians and enormous damage to its basic infrastructure. European
leaders fully comprehend that unless the siege of Gaza is lifted, the people of
Gaza will live in a perpetual state of suicidal despair. Unlike the US, where
images of the attack on Gaza were largely hidden, the Europeans witnessed raw
images which reshaped their perception of the conflict.
If Israel continues on its present course it could
seriously jeopardize its lucrative trade with Europe worth about 30 billion
euros a year and its tariff-free access to the 28 member states.
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