Is EU losing credibility over its failure to defend international law in Gaza?

Transcript

00:00The EU is losing credibility over its stance in Gaza, having failed to sanction Israel

00:06for its offensive there, say legal and political experts.

00:10As Israel continues to pummel the Palestinian enclave, and with the death toll among civilians,

00:15in particular children, rising by the hour, the EU stands accused of being selective in

00:20its defense of international law.

00:23Israel started its offensive in October after a Hamas terrorist attack killed over 1,200

00:28Israelis and abducted over 250 people.

00:32Israel is now being investigated for genocide, extermination and starvation of civilians,

00:37among other things.

00:45I think on Gaza the EU has scored a very transparent and dramatic fail in terms of being able to

00:55assert that it has been the upholder of international law, of the rule of law, that there is any

01:03semblance even of consistency in its position.

01:07And I think it has lost a lot of ground in the global majority, global south.

01:14We remember during the first year of the Ukraine war that there was a lot of talk about, you

01:21know, why isn't the rest of the world more with us?

01:23How do we get that global floating vote?

01:26I don't think anyone even thinks in those terms anymore because the approach towards

01:30Gaza, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, has made that claim impossible.

01:37A recent opinion by the International Court of Justice says Israel's occupation of the

01:41West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal and it should evacuate its settlers and pay reparations

01:46to the Palestinians.

01:48We have to be true to ourselves, to our own principles.

01:53We say all the time the rule of law, international law, humanitarian law, protection of human

01:59rights.

02:00These principles are universal and they apply to the South China Sea, as well as to Ukraine

02:08and to the Middle East.

02:10You cannot have a selective understanding of what are the rulings or the opinions of

02:16the international court.

02:18EU foreign policy requires unanimous decision making, so even if a majority of EU member

02:23states wanted to apply sanctions against Israel for alleged breaches of international law,

02:28it would require all countries to support it.

02:30The EU therefore has limited influence when it comes to the Middle East.

02:34However, there is a consensus on the need for a two-state solution for a lasting peace

02:39and a ceasefire in Gaza.

02:41Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.