Is pressure on Israel increasing?

The usual pressure exists. Its "growth" is no more than a PR stunt, thanks in part to our work.

Every time Israel has increased pressure on Hamas, the world has seen a corresponding increase in protests, false claims of genocide and dramatic statements by world leaders.

Both Israeli and international press have been touting the line that practical international pressure on Israel to end its defensive war against the Hamas terror organization is “increasing” or “mounting” or “growing,” particularly out of Europe.

Some Israelis claim this is a reason for Israel to stop fighting, even if that means leaving Hamas in power. Yet this “pressure,” though certainly real and in some cases even harmful, is not actually “growing” as some claim.

Photo: by Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 via Wikimedia Commons.

First there was the claim last week that U.S. President Donald Trump was prepared to “abandon” Israel if it did not promptly end the war in Gaza. This claim, based on unreliable and anonymous sources, appears to be entirely false, as we explained in depth in a prior post.

Two additional claims of “increasing” pressure on Israel have emerged, this time coming out of Europe. Both claims are incorrect.

Claim 1: The European Union is moving to end Israel’s status as an “association partner” of the EU, which would have a severe impact on the Israeli economy.

Reality: This is, in essence, no more than a PR stunt, thanks in part to our work.

There are certainly some agitators making a great deal of public noise on this topic, such as Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and French President Emanuel Macron, and there’s no shortage of talking heads in Israel panicking over how dire such a move would be for the Israeli economy. However, actually ending the EU-Israel association would need a unanimous vote of all 27 EU member states, as required by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, §218(8).

The parties that are agitating on this issue, such as Holland and France, have been critical of Israel in a similar manner almost since the massacre of October 7, 2023. However, many other EU members have expressed that they are against modifying the EU-Israel agreement.

What we’re doing: At RealityCheck (www.realitycheckresearch.org) we have been, and continue to be, in contact with relevant EU states: presenting them with clear evidence of why they should vote against changes to the EU-Israel treaty. In addition, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has been using our research in their diplomatic discussions with EU partners. We are pleased to announce that so far, we appear to be successfully maintaining a strong EU voting block against changes to the partnership, including: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Lithuania.

Bottom line: not only is it highly unlikely that the EU-Israel partnership will change without the necessary votes, but the ongoing “pressure” from what some Israeli officials describe as “the usual suspects,” is actually nothing new.

It is, however, particularly disappointing to see Holland moralizing on this issue, after rioters carried out an actual, violent and organized pogrom against Israeli fans attending a soccer match in Amsterdam last November, on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Apparently, the Dutch government had ignored advance warnings from Israeli intelligence, and for hours on the streets of Amsterdam, as Israelis were hunted, the Dutch police were reportedly nowhere to be found. This is (paradoxically) the very same government that is now lecturing Israel on morality.

Claim 2: The UK has frozen negotiations on a free trade agreement with Israel.

Reality: This too, is essentially a PR stunt.

The UK announced last week that it was suspending talks with Israel on a free trade agreement. However, those talks had already been effectively frozen for over a year, with the timing coinciding with the British Labor party’s rise to power.

At the same time, the UK has been quietly, behind the scenes, continuing to sell Israel important military equipment, including specialized parts for the F35 fighter jet, despite public opposition.

What we’re doing: Shortly after UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy claimed that Israel was “violating international law” last month, we shared our specialized legal research with appropriate UK officials: subsequently, the UK Prime Minister’s office publicly rejected Lammy’s claim, and Lammy was forced to walk back his statement. Such claims are used as a basis for jeopardizing international support for Israel, so having the claims rejected or removed is critically important.

Bottom line: The UK labor government has always been highly critical of Israel, and has simply used a long existing policy against negotiating trade relations as an opportunity to create new headlines.

In short, while there is certainly international pressure on Israel, and while that pressure is significant and sometimes harmful, it is not accurate to say that there is “growing” pressure. More accurately, the usual, pre-existing pressure has garnered some new and dramatic headlines.

As we wrote previously, this is how Hamas fights - with rumor, innuendo and outright lies, with law-fare, “diplomacy-fare” and other similar tactics. Allies such as Qatar and Iran help to fund and spread this disinformation and misinformation to governments around the world. And sometimes it even works, at least temporarily. But we’re in this fight too, and so far, we are succeeding where it counts.