In the early days of Israel’s 2023 assault on Gaza, European leaders rushed to show solidarity with Tel Aviv. Two years on, however, the European Union faces a reckoning: once a firm supporter of Israel, it is now weighing sanctions against a government accused of genocide, a dramatic reversal driven by public anger, political pressure, and moral unease.
Israeli attacks over the past two years have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to figures from Palestinian authorities.
A U.N. independent international commission of inquiry concluded last month that Israel is committing genocide in the enclave, where its siege and blockade on all essentials has also triggered a famine that has killed more than 460 Palestinians, including over 150 children.
Across Europe, protests have filled the streets, accusing the EU of complicity in Israel's devastating war.
Under that pressure, the bloc's tone began to shift. By September 2024, von der Leyen herself accused Israel of "undermining the two-state solution."
