Gathering gloom in the West over war
US shoots down missiles, drones as EU fears terror threats
With tensions spiking in the Middle East, United States forces in the region are facing increasing threats as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head towards Israel yesterday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks.
Later a United States official said there had been an attack near Baghdad’s airport, where US forces are hosted. The official said one projectile was shot down and another struck, but according to early reports no one was injured. It wasn’t clear what type of munition was fired. The official said information was still being gathered.
Earlier, the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The action by the Carney potentially represented the first shots by the US military in the defence of Israel in this conflict.
Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the missiles were “potentially” headed towards Israel but said the US hasn’t finished its assessment of what they were targeting.
A US official said they don’t believe the missiles — which were shot down over the water — were aimed at the US warship. But an array of other drone attacks over the past three days did target US bases, including one in southern Syria yesterday that caused minor injuries.
The rash of violence comes in the wake of a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital, triggering protests in a number of Muslim nations. The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Hamas rampage in southern Israel almost two weeks ago, but Israel has denied responsibility for the al-Ahli hospital blast and the US has said its intelligence assessment found that Tel Aviv was not to blame.
In recent days, however, a number of militant groups across the region — from Hizbollah to the Houthis — have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel. Since Wednesday, militants have launched at least four drone attacks on US military installations in Iraq and Syria where US troops train local defence forces and support the mission to counter Isis.
Amid the violence, US President Joe Biden yesterday pledged unwavering support for Israel’s security, “today and always”, while adding that the world “can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians” in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In a national address from the Oval office, hours after returning to Washington from an urgent visit to Israel, Biden drew a distinction between ordinary Palestinians and Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. He linked the current war in Gaza to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin “both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy”.
Biden said he would be sending an “urgent budget request” to Congress today, to cover emergency military aid to both Israel and Ukraine.
Declaring that “American leadership is what holds the world together,” he argued that the conflicts remain “vital for America’s national security”.
“History has taught us when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction,” Biden said. “They keep going. And the cost and the threat to America and the world keep rising.”
Biden’s speech reflected an expansive view of US obligations overseas at a time when he faces political resistance to additional funding at home. He’s expected to ask for US$105 billion, including US$60b for Ukraine, much of which would replenish US weapons stockpiles provided earlier.
There’s also US$14b for Israel, US$10b for humanitarian efforts, US$14b for managing the US-Mexico border and US$7b for the Indo-Pacific region.
“It’s a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said.
He hopes that combining all of these issues into one piece of legislation will create the necessary coalition for congressional approval. Biden placed an increased emphasis on the deadly toll on civilians in Gaza, saying he’s “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life”.
“Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity and peace,” Biden said.
He also warned about a rising tide of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the US, noting the killing of a 6-yearold Palestinian-American boy.
There are escalating worries in the West that the war in Israel could expand into a larger regional conflict and could stir internal tensions in outside countries.
The European Union began taking steps yesterday to limit the impact of the Middle East war on the bloc, amid heightened security tensions after a firebomb attack on a Berlin synagogue and killings in Belgium and France by suspected Islamic extremists.
Spain, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, activated a crisis mechanism to speed up decision-making and coordination between the 27 member countries, the bloc’s institutions and major partners like the United Nations or the US.
Officials from across the EU have expressed concerns about a rise in antisemitic attacks, radicalisation online, the use of encrypted messaging services by extremists, and the need to speed up the deportation of people who might pose a public danger.
But calls for an increase in security across the board are creating deep unease as the solutions being discussed could undermine free movement and the right to assemble in Europe. Italy is introducing border checks to counter a possible rise in tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
Denmark and Sweden are too, due to what they have said is a terrorist threat.
France intends to keep checks in place until at least May 2024, citing “new terrorist threats and external borders situation”.
More police have been deployed in Belgium, France and Germany.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell believes part of the solution to Europe’s security woes must involve the bloc helping diplomatically and financially to bring an end to years of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
“We have learned from history that the most difficult decisions are always taken when we are on the edge of the abyss. I believe that is where we are now: on the edge of the abyss,” Borrell told EU lawmakers on Thursday.
“When I hear Muslim religious authorities speaking the language of inter-religious conflict and explicitly stating that Europe is a party to this conflict, I feel that the storm clouds are looming,” he said.
Still, not all of Europe’s challenges are directly linked to the war.
Earlier yesterday, Sweden hosted a meeting of ministers from eight countries, among them Germany, Belgium and France, focused on how to handle incidents where people burn the Muslim holy book, the
Quran.
Prosecutors are trying to establish whether that was a key motive for a Tunisian man to shoot three Swedes in Brussels on Tuesday, killing two of them, ahead of a Belgium-Sweden soccer match in the capital. While the
Quran burnings are not directly linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, they are a sign of rising tensions between religious and other communities in Europe.
“We have to address multiple impacts from the continuing crisis in the Middle East,” European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said. “This entails the protection of our Jewish communities, but also the protection against a generalised climate of Islamophobia that has no place in our society.”
Pro-Palestinian rallies have been held in several European cities since the war. France has banned them. Germany has promised to take tougher action against Hamas, which is on the EU’s list of terrorist groups. Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament that local authorities “must not allow gatherings . . . at which it must be feared that antisemitic slogans will be shouted, that people’s deaths will be glorified and everything we can’t accept here.”
In France, the Palace of Versailles and three airports were evacuated for security reasons and temporarily closed on Thursday. The incidents were the latest in a spate of evacuations in the past five days, and the French Government is threatening to fine or jail prank callers.
They followed the killing of a teacher in northern France last week by a suspected Islamic extremist. French Interior Minister Gerland Darmanin noted that two foreigners were behind the recent attacks in Belgium and France. Europe must “manage our borders, register people and conduct the security interviews that are necessary before every asylum request”.