The Israeli military’s killing of seven aid workers in Gaza has triggered unprecedented criticism from European leaders, who are stepping up calls for a cease-fire and in some cases halting arms sales to Israel as the war’s toll mounts, reports AP.
The attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy has sharpened the dilemma for European politicians, who are squeezed between support for an ally that suffered a terrible attack on Oct. 7 and growing public pressure to stop a war over which they have little control.
“Nothing justifies such a tragedy,” French Foreign Minister Sébastien Séjourné said after Monday’s attack. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by the deaths of the aid workers, three of whom were British.
Britain summoned the Israeli ambassador for a reprimand over the killings. So did Poland, which lost one of its citizens and whose foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, expressed “moral indignation.”
Beyond Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said attacking aid workers was “absolutely unacceptable,” and Australian leader Anthony Albanese said his country was “outraged.”
Israel said the attack that killed the aid workers and their Palestinian driver was a tragic mistake. Its military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others, saying they violated the army’s rules of engagement.
Julie Norman, associate professor of politics and international relations at University College London, said unease about the conflict was already growing in Europe, and Monday’s attack “accelerated that and made it much more public.”
“Things that had been said more quietly are now being said much louder,” she said.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
