EU and Israeli reciprocity works to a formula

Within the space of a couple of weeks, two contrasting news items have yet again portrayed how Israel and the EU have not veered away from the convenience of impositions and subjugation respectively. Construction of illegal settlements and demolitions of Palestinian homes have long provided a source of quiet contention, which resulted in Palestinians retaining the role of an entity to be displaced at random while Israel and the EU go through the charade of intermittent disagreements. As diplomatic opposition to demolitions increased in the past months, albeit confined to rhetoric, the EU and Israel embarked upon consolidating their responses, with the EU once again granting Israel an undeserved political advantage.

According to Haaretz, the EU Mashreq/Maghreb Working Party (MaMa) approved a non-binding resolution which recommends that Israel should reimburse the EU for structures damaged and demolished which it has funded. The reason for the non-binding resolution which, among other things, calls upon the EU “to intensify and toughen the manner of wording” with regard to Israel’s destructive mania, can also be used to create binding resolutions issued by higher bodies such as the EU Foreign Affairs Council. It is most likely that this option will be as illusory as the current non-binding pseudo-initiative.

Meanwhile, according to a report in Russia Today, Israel has proposed a bill in the Knesset that calls for stripping EU diplomats of their diplomatic immunity “for supporting the construction of houses for Palestinians.” Since the beginning of this year up until 9 October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 2,000 Palestinians have been affected by forced displacement in the Jordan Valley alone.

Quoted in the Jerusalem Post, Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset member Oded Forer, who filed the bill, declared: “Diplomatic immunity was not granted to allow for activities that undermine the state’s sovereignty.” The bill seeks to provide impediments for the temporary structures that are built as a form of temporary relief for Palestinians, with Israeli right-wing politicians alleging that such dwellings increase the possibility of Palestinians resorting to violence.

These two approaches portray how the EU continues to play a willing part in divesting Palestinians of their land in, and of, Palestine. The perpetually tentative, calculating approach is, of course, intentional and part of the wider international framework that has managed to negate the severe repercussions of Israel’s actions against Palestinians. For political convenience across the entire spectrum of violations and collaboration, the EU has deliberately chosen mild language of condemnation and hypothesis, ensconced within the vague celebration of non-binding resolutions while actively working to ensure Israel’s inclusion through preferential trade agreements and deals, even if these embody a contravention of human rights.

Meanwhile, Israel has acted upon a non-binding resolution with an attempt to humiliate and demean EU diplomats. The attitude is not surprising; Israel has shown on countless occasions its absolute contempt even for entities which thrive upon providing political, economic and military protection for the settler-colonial project. The reliance upon these complementary narratives has become an acceptable phenomenon, one that has induced an overdose of alienation. Claiming that nothing has changed is erroneous; the fact that the EU is extending its compliance as regards demolitions should be read as an additional colonial gain.

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