Gaza: no sign of the violence ending
Israel has expanded its military offensive and declared almost all of Gaza a "combat zone". Its army hit a hospital in Gaza City again during air strikes. According to the UN, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being forced into an ever smaller area because Israel wants to establish so-called security zones. Europe's press is increasingly critical of the Israeli offensive that began after the Hamas terrorist attack.
A disgrace for both Israel and Europe
Europe has simply failed in the Middle East, De Standaard sums up:
“The escapades of the US president must not distract attention from the murderous behaviour of the Israeli army in Gaza. ... The International Criminal Court must decide whether genocide has been committed there. But the countless deaths and the ruthless starvation of the remaining population remain the ultimate disgrace for a country that was founded after the indescribable horror of the Second World War. Europe's failure to play a mediating role in this conflict is a disgrace for which the West has been responsible for decades.”
At least Macron is taking a stand
El País is not optimistic that there will be a turnaround:
“The expulsion of the inhabitants of the southern Gaza Strip and the potential destruction of Rafah are outrageous and must not be tolerated. ... The new plan [to establish Israeli 'security zones'] affects 20 percent of the Strip. ... Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France may recognise the Palestinian state in June is a warning. Spain, Ireland and Norway have already recognised it, but in the case of France the change takes on a special significance: it's a member of the G7 and has the largest Jewish community in Europe. The situation in the Gaza Strip gives little cause for hope, but any gesture of resistance is to be welcomed.”
Neither side prepared to make concessions
Commenting in Novaya Gazeta, Roman Yanushevsky, editor-in-chief of the Russian-language Israeli broadcaster 9th Channel, sees no prospect of a peaceful solution:
“Israel is not prepared to end the war without the release of all the hostages and the handover of the bodies. It also wants a guarantee that Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip and that the Israeli army will retain the option of restoring order there if necessary. For its part, Hamas expects firm guarantees from the mediators that with the handover of all remaining hostages it can take a breather and start to rebuild its military infrastructure. Neither side is prepared to make concessions on these matters of principle.”
Bring about a paradigm shift
Writing in La Croix, historian Caroline Piquet calls for a change in thinking:
“Weapons do not protect the Israeli state but destroy it from within by destroying its political and ethical foundations. A paradigm shift is more necessary than ever. Defending Israel means supporting all those - international institutions, organisations and Israeli citizens - who call for tough sanctions against the destruction, colonisation and occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel's security will not be achieved through the massacre and deportation of Palestinians, nor through the creation of a luxury Riviera on the Mediterranean. It will be achieved through the regional integration of Israel into political and economic alliances.”