The humanitarian catastrophe is a consequence of a prolonged European abdication: the refusal to hold a belligerent Israeli government and an erratic American administration to account when doing so mattered. That failure is not just a shameful moral lapse. It is strategic self-harm that has left the European continent exposed, divided and diminished.
Unable to defend European interests, unwilling to hold Washington and Tel Aviv accountable, and therefore impotent in the face of great-power predation. This failure is not merely moral — it is strategic.
Israel’s intelligence services already maintain extensive knowledge of who works for these NGOs. The new registration requirements appear designed primarily to demonstrate control, writes the former EU representative to Gaza and the West Bank.
The EU, instead of contending itself with the undignified role of a subservient payer and sidekick of US interests, must prioritise a robust and ambitious diplomatic strategy towards Israel, moving from mere statements of discontent to actionable efforts that hold the Israeli government accountable for its blatant violations of international law, writes former EU ambassador Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff..
