Killings in the West Bank: The EU talks, Israel does as it pleases

The situation in the West Bank is “unacceptable.” So says the EU. And whenever the EU declares something “unacceptable,” you can rest assured that it will continue to happen, like clockwork, amid absolute and general indifference.

Since February 28, six Palestinians have been killed by extremist settlers in the West Bank, dozens of communities have been attacked, property destroyed, and families driven from their homes. Brussels has, as always, taken up pen and paper (metaphorically, of course, since we use keyboards now) and produced a statement to stigmatize the actions of the Tel Aviv government, which is responsible for yet another slaughter in the Middle East.

The EU “calls upon” Israel to act. It does not sanction, it does not suspend agreements, it does not summon ambassadors. It requests with its usual lack of authority.

There is then an “exhortation” to respect international law, that marvelous legal construct that applies to everything except when nations like the USA and Israel, brothers-in-arms, have no desire to respect it.

The magic word in the EU statement is “impunity”: a solemn, evocative term used with great ease by those who have never found the way, or the will, to turn it into concrete consequences.

Meanwhile, trade agreements between the EU and Israel are holding up just fine.

The statement from the EEAS (European External Action Service) has thus been issued. Values are safe; the inhabitants of the West Bank, less so.

Photo di Ekaterina Vysotina da Pixabay.com