Shrinking support: How Israel’s allies have changed their stance on Gaza war

ISTANBUL (AA) – The West’s support for and alliance with Israel has undergone a visible shift in recent weeks, with leaders pushing more for a cease-fire, addressing the humanitarian crisis and raising concerns over a potential ground assault in Rafah.

The change in position comes as civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza, where Israel’s relentless bombing has killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians, an overwhelming majority of them women and children.

The war has displaced 85% of Gaza’s population and led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is facing genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with the top UN court having ordered six provisional measures on South Africa’s application and saying that the risk of genocide being committed is plausible.

As Israel now plans to launch a ground operation in Rafah, the southern Gaza region sheltering over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, several countries have expressed concerns that it could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and ramped up calls for an immediate cease-fire.

– US –

The US, Israel’s biggest military and diplomatic ally, has hardened its stance in the past few weeks.

Both President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to Israel after the October 7 incidents, expressing unconditionally strong solidarity and supporting Israel’s “right to defend itself.”

Biden, during his visit to Tel Aviv, said: “I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone. You are not alone. As long as the United States stands – and we will stand forever – we will not let you ever be alone.”

Washington has financially, militarily and politically backed Israel’s deadly war, with multibillion-dollar aid packages, material support and several vetoes for cease-fire resolutions at the UN.

However, as the war drags on in its fifth month and the November presidential election inches closer for Biden, growing public pressure over the humanitarian disaster inflicted on Palestinians seems to be causing a rethink in Washington.

In December, Biden had said at an event that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.

He also called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make changes within his government.

Most recently, in a phone call with Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden reiterated his stance against a military operation in Rafah, saying it “should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians.”

– Germany –

Another staunch supporter of Israel, Germany, also seems to be tweaking its policy because of the looming Rafah operation.

After the October 7 attacks, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the first European leader to land in Israel.

“The responsibility we bear as a result of the Holocaust makes it our duty to stand up for the existence and security of the state of Israel,” he said at the time after meeting Netanyahu.

Germany has been reluctant in calling for a cease-fire, abstaining in UN votes, and even said it will intervene in Israel’s favor at the ICJ.

However, just this month, Berlin has spoken out at least twice against the Rafah operation.

“Gaza is on the brink of collapse. In Rafah, 1.3 million people are crammed into a small area in the most appalling conditions,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement as she left for her February 14-15 visit to Israel, her fifth since last October.

“Under these circumstances, an offensive by the Israeli forces on Rafah would send the humanitarian situation spiraling completely out of control. For the people in Rafah cannot simply disappear into thin air.”

The statement also said that Baerbock “will make the case for a political process leading to another humanitarian pause,” in order to pave the way for “negotiations on a permanent cease-fire.”

– France –

France, another one of Israel’s European allies, has firmly opposed the impending Israeli attack on the city of Rafah.

President Emmanuel Macron openly called for a cease-fire in a BBC interview on November 10, saying there is “no reason” for babies, women and the elderly to be killed, and urging Israel to stop its assault.

In a phone with Netanyahu, Macron said the attack “could only lead to a humanitarian disaster of a new magnitude, as to any forced displacement of populations, which would constitute violations of international humanitarian law and would pose an additional risk of regional escalation.”

In November, Macron had made a call for cease-fire in Gaza. The move had been criticized by the opposition, who said that he had raised voice only after 10,000 Palestinians had been killed.

Macron has also criticized the Israeli forces and their military strategy, and demanded that the Israeli forces should “define more precisely” their objectives in Gaza, and said that the `proper response` was not “to bomb the entirety of civilian capabilities.”

– UK –

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in Tel Aviv within days of the October 7 attacks to pledge the UK’s full support.

“I am proud to stand here with you in Israel’s darkest hour as your friend, who will stand with you in solidarity, who will stand with your people, and we also want you to win,” he said at a press conference with Netanyahu.

The UK has since been a key backer of Israel’s devastating war, continuing arms sales, rejecting calls for a cease-fire and voting against UN resolutions.

Last month, it also joined the US and several other countries in halting funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a move that many have warned imperils millions in Gaza.

However, the Rafah operation plan has drawn concerns from London as well.

In a phone call with Netanyahu, he said the UK was “deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life in Gaza and the potentially devastating humanitarian impact of a military incursion into Rafah,” according to a government readout.

“He reiterated that the immediate priority must be negotiating a humanitarian pause to allow the safe release of prisoners and to facilitate considerably more aid going to Gaza, leading to a longer-term sustainable cease-fire,” the statement said.