Ireland has traditionally been regarded as among the most – if not the most – pro-Palestinian EU members
Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar prior to the start of a EU leaders' summit at the European Council building in Brussels on Thursday. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP
Israel-Hamas war: Gulf states walk geopolitical tightrope as popular Arab sentiment condemns bombardment of GazaYour morning briefing: First-time buyers borrowing surges; US bombs targets in Syria; and staff shortages delay new flood forecasting systemMeeting on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, EU leaders are keen to project a common front. But diplomats have wrangled for days over the text of a statement that calls for a ceasefire to enable humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
“You know, particularly countries” – Varadkar paused here – “that were involved in the terrible things that happened to Jewish people in the 1930s and 1940s. We need to understand where they’re coming from and why so many Jewish people had to return to Israel, their ancestral homeland, because of the events of the Holocaust.
“I don’t give a damn how we call it,” said the Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel entering the summit venue. “What matters is that every day there’s people that are dying, children who are dying, women who are dying that have nothing to do with the war.” All this is no doubt true. But it is also true to say that a general observation of countries’ positions suggests a greater tendency to one side or the other. So, says one experienced former diplomat, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus and Spain have tended to be more supportive of the Palestinian cause. France, previously in this camp, moved more towards Israel under Nicolas Sarkozy. Emmanuel Macron takes a more middling path.
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