EU's condescending rhetoric and the inclusion of Israel in its grants

Speaking at the Herzliya conference in Israel, European Commission Chief Jose Manuel Barroso voiced support for Palestinian political reconciliation and the ensuing unity government. EU support, however, is dependent upon the major compromise expected on behalf of Palestinian leaders, who were urged to consider Israeli demands to the absolute exclusion of liberating Palestine from Zionist settler colonialism.

Barroso clearly spelled out the indignities which the EU expects Palestinians to suffer in return for international recognition of their compromised government. According to the Times of Israel’s report concerning the speech, Barroso insisted that “Any Palestinian government should uphold the principle of non-violence, be committed to a two-state solution and a negotiated settlement of the conflict, which would imply accepting existing agreements as well as recognise Israel’s right to exist.”

According to the EU, therefore, Palestinians are expected to relinquish the right to liberation in favour of a unity government that has already ceded the concept of liberating the entirety of historic Palestine. Despite Netanyahu’s verbal objections to the unity government, Barroso’s statement clearly indicates the level of support directed towards the settler-colonial state, under the guise of allegedly supporting Palestinian rights. Implicit in the statement is the following equation: if the indigenous population is willing to submit to absolute subjugation, they can be reassured of the EU’s crucial role in aiding the settler-colonial state in its attempts to permanently erase Palestinian memory.

Concluding with an ultimate proof of duplicity, the EU commissioner said: “Security for Israel and a state for the Palestinians are moral imperatives for the international community.” Juxtaposing security for Israel and the hypothesis of a Palestinian state is reminiscent of reinventing incarceration. The existence of Israel is detrimental to the process of establishing a Palestinian state; hence any discourse attempting to relate one aspect to the other is an absolute contradiction, even within the parameters defined by UN resolutions declaring the legitimacy of armed struggle against colonial domination.

Furthermore, the European Commission’s website describes Barroso’s visit to Israel as directly relating to EU-Israeli cooperation and the signing of an agreement pertaining to the forthcoming Horizon2020. Signed last Sunday, the agreement makes Israel the only non-EU country eligible to access grants pertaining to scientific and industrial research, on a par with EU member states. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The signing of the agreement today confirms Israel’s status as a full partner in the plan.” Funding for Israeli research was set to be curbed following EU guidelines that banned financial aid given to entities operating beyond the pre-1967 territories. However, ensuing negotiations allowed Israel to refute recognition of the new guidelines.

Another diplomatic exercise at the expense of further Palestinian territory and lives, Barroso’s visit served its dishonest purpose well, built upon the premise of alleged support which has become a mainstream media cliché. In this context of professed support, last week’s granting of €200 million to the PA and UNRWA is a blatant attempt at exonerating the organisation’s complicity with Israel in perfecting methods of ensuring Palestinian subjugation under imperialist-supported colonial domination.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.