Aid worker deaths elicit Europe hesitancy to supply arms to Israel
LONDON — The words coming from some of Israel’s closest allies have been startling in their vehemence: “appalled,” “outraged,” “no more excuses.”
The Israeli military’s killing of seven aid workers in Gaza has triggered unprecedented criticism from European leaders, who are stepping up calls for a cease-fire and in some cases halting arms sales to Israel as the war’s toll mounts.
The attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy has sharpened the dilemma for European politicians, who are squeezed between support for an ally that suffered a terrible attack Oct. 7 and growing public pressure to stop a war over which they have little control.
“Nothing justifies such a tragedy,” French Foreign Minister Sébastien Séjourné said after Monday’s attack. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by the deaths of the aid workers, three of whom were British.
Britain summoned the Israeli ambassador for a reprimand over the killings. So did Poland, which lost one of its citizens and whose foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, expressed “moral indignation.”
Beyond Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said attacking aid workers was “absolutely unacceptable,” and Australian leader Anthony Albanese said his country was “outraged.”
Israel said the attack that killed the aid workers and their Palestinian driver was a tragic mistake. Its military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others, saying they violated the army’s rules of engagement.
Julie Norman, associate professor of politics and international relations at University College London, said unease about the conflict was already growing in Europe, and Monday’s attack “accelerated that and made it much more public.”
“Things that had been said more quietly are now being said much louder,” she said.
When Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis in a cross-border attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, Israel’s European allies strongly backed its right to strike back.
Within weeks, some were expressing disquiet at the mounting bloodshed. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a cease-fire as early as November. Sunak has moved from backing a “humanitarian pause” to support for a “sustainable cease-fire” contingent on Hamas releasing Israeli hostages and halting attacks.
Germany is one of Israel’s closest allies and, given memories of the Holocaust, treads carefully when criticizing its actions. While remaining careful to stress Israel’s right to defend itself, the government has become increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced unease at the war’s toll, asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting last month how any goal can “justify such terribly high costs.”
Palestinians, aid workers and international rights groups say Western outrage over the deaths of foreign aid workers contrasts with the subdued response to the suffering of Gaza residents. More than 33,000 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, including more than 220 humanitarian workers. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are on the brink of starvation.
“It’s sad that it has taken an attack on international aid workers” to crystalize leaders’ attention, said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security Program at international affairs think tank Chatham House. “But that is unfortunately the reality.”
The World Central Kitchen attack has increased pressure on Europe’s governments to move from criticism to suspending arms sales to Israel.
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council passed a nonbinding resolution to that effect Friday. Among European countries in the 47-nation body, only Germany voted against it, as did the United States.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Thursday that his country had stopped selling weapons to Israel and urged other nations to do the same. In February, Canada announced it would stop future shipments, and the same month a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to stop the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel — though the Dutch government said it would appeal.