Divisions in European capitals over Israel’s incursion into Gaza were laid bare today as the EU failed to co-ordinate a united response and rival peace missions headed to the region.
France has led calls for a ceasefire as President Nicolas Sarkozy of France prepared to travel to Jerusalem tomorrow at the start of a four-day freelance mission taking in four countries.
Meanwhile the Czechs, leading the official EU diplomatic visit, caused confusion by calling Israel’s move “defensive” on Saturday, but insisting today that this was a misunderstanding and joining the general call for a ceasefire.
Carl Bildt, the outspoken Swedish foreign minister and a member of the official EU mission, further added to the splintered response by strongly criticising Israel for having chosen to “dramatically escalate” the situation.
The failure to present a united front could not come at a worse time for the EU because of its opportunity to lead the global response during the leadership vacuum at the end of George W Bush’s presidency in the US.
The blame will be shared by the Czechs, who have just taken over the EU rotating presidency from France, but also Mr Sarkozy, who believes that he has a personal duty to see through peace mediation which he began while holding the EU presidency.
Mr Sarkozy plans to join some of the official EU meetings this week with Palestinian leaders but will also plough his own furrow while his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, sticks with the EU team made up of France, Czech Republic and Sweden -the past, present and future EU presidencies.
But the confusion does not end there. The Dutch weighed in today with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende showing sympathy for Israel’s moves and arguing that the offensive could not be condemned as long as Hamas was firing rockets.
“Condemning Israel is pointless because both parties have to be addressed,” he said in an interview with Dutch television.
“As long as the rocket attacks continue, Israel will always say: 'We cannot accept this', and I understand that.”
He added: “It is always regrettable when there are civilian casualties. But at the same time, I see Hamas continuously firing rockets on Israel.”
Gordon Brown called for an immediate ceasefire on both sides, although he called Israel’s ground offensive “a very dangerous moment”.
“I can see the Gaza issues for the Palestinians – that they need humanitarian aid – but the Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel,” he told the BBC.
“So first we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of the rockets into Israel.”
The Czechs have shown more sympathy for the Israeli situation than their counterparts in the EU mission. A spokesman said yesterday that Israel’s land assault was “more defensive than offensive” but Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister who will lead the peace effort, later said this was a misunderstanding.
He said that the only valid EU presidency position was a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry late on Saturday which called for a ceasefire and the facilitation of humanitarian aid.
Mr Schwarzenberg is known for his pro-US and pro-Israeli stance and was quoted defending the Israeli ground invasion as it began, stating: “If they [Hamas] started again shooting then they should not be astonished that they are attacked, of course.”
But Mr Bildt’s remarks showed the tensions in the EU delegation. The Israeli ground offensive was “basically an admission that [Tel Aviv’s] air attacks over the past week have failed to achieve what they had hoped for,” Mr Bildt said.
“Instead of seeking a possible political solution after this failure they have now chosen to dramatically escalate the conflict with a ground offensive. It is obvious that this will make it harder to find a solution to this serious conflict.”
The EU mission was due to start tonight in Cairo, followed by meetings tomorrow in Jerusalem with Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. From there they will go to the West Bank town of Ramallah to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Mr Sarkozy will also attend the meetings with Mr Abbas and his Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5444697.ece
JPTF 2009/01/04
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