"But...do you condemn Hamas?" That's been Piers Morgan's exasperating refrain since October 7, a reductionist line that, for months, framed Israel's war on Gaza through a narrow, pro-Israeli lens. For nearly 17 months, Piers Morgan faced criticism for this position. But in the last two months, Morgan has shifted, calling out Israel and saying it has "gone too far" in Gaza.
Sky News seems to have followed suit, with a shift in tone. Palestinians no longer die nameless and en masse; some now have stories. Israel's statements are no longer treated as gospel, but are questioned, and at times, debunked.
Of course, not all media are on board. But pressure on Israel is felt across Europe, and echoes in the decision-making chambers of the EU and UK, after 18 months of criminal inaction over Gaza.
The shift has even reached parts of the EU long hesitant to criticise Israel. The UK has warned of "further concrete actions against Tel Aviv if the Gaza offensive continues. Yesterday, on June 10, the UK sanctioned far-right ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir for incitement, freezing their assets and imposing travel bans. Ursula von der Leyen — often criticised for her apathy toward Palestinian suffering compared to Ukrainians — called Israel’s actions “abhorrent” and “disproportionate.” One EU diplomat described this new language as “strong and unheard of.”
Yet it remains unclear: is this a genuine moral shift, or reactive panic — a change of heart, or simply a bid to align with public opinion?
Europe's blind card
One false argument explaining why the Shoah happened was that the average European did not know about it and therefore could not stop it.
The Israelis made their intentions clear and have been committing the world’s first ‘televised genocide.’ Yet, for months, some European governments found ways to justify it, downplay it, or turn a blind eye.
This selective attitude may partly stem from a Western-biased perception of Arabs and Muslims, a category into which Palestinians are indiscriminately and collectively shoved.
This worldview may have normalised human rights as a hierarchy, not a universal system. Ukrainians, who rushed to make Molotov cocktails to fend off the Russian invasion, were heroes, but Palestinians living under brutal occupation for decades were sometimes lambasted for doing the same.
Importantly, Holocaust guilt has been normalised as part of the European value system and self-image. This made several European governments more receptive, whether out of fear or genuine conviction, to conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. That resulted in making any pro-Palestinian rights movement not only antisemitic, but also an attack on ‘Western values.’
This partly explains why Germany is especially aggressive toward the Palestine movement and hesitant to meaningfully criticise Israel's war on Gaza, even when other European governments have: it’s atoning for its genocide guilt by turning a blind eye to another genocide committed by those it once victimised.
Beyond the historical and ideological posturing, European governments have spent decades building a strategic partnership with Tel Aviv. The 2000 EU-Israel Association Agreement, for instance, established political dialogue and enabled trade liberalisation and economic integration. The EU is now Israel’s largest trade partner and its second-largest arms supplier after the US.
Palestinians, by contrast, have little leverage in Europe. While Europe’s engagement with Israel has been driven by Holocaust guilt and strategic interests, its approach to Palestinian affairs was formalised in the 1970s through a joint Arab-Israeli conflict framework. This culminated in the 1980 Venice Declaration, which acknowledged the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
After the Cold War, EU member states supported a two-state solution — a position they continue to repeat, even as the prospect has steadily collapsed over three decades of Israel’s shift to the far right. As such, the EU’s role has largely been that of a financial patron awaiting a Palestinian state, while functioning as a “paper tiger”, a payer, not a player, unable or unwilling to pressure Tel Aviv to recognise Palestinian rights.
That ambivalent policy held until October 7, when most European states fully aligned with Israel. Israeli flags were raised outside EU institutions, and the Israeli national anthem played in Brussels.
A moral panic on Gaza?
As the carpet bombing of Gaza intensified and the Palestinian death toll skyrocketed, European governments appeared caught between their ideological alignment with Israel and their supposed commitment to protecting civilian lives.
What followed were half-hearted statements merely ‘advising’ that Israel ‘should’ avoid civilian harm, while Israel did exactly the opposite: deliberately and systematically targeting civilians, including children.
Some suggest that Israel’s weaponisation of hunger after breaking the ceasefire in March triggered Europe’s ‘sudden shift’ on Tel Aviv. As if this were the first time Israel had starved Palestinians, or as if the barbaric destruction of an entire society and over 50,000 deaths in the past 18 months wasn’t already enough.
More likely, the shift came from the cumulative failure to keep justifying Israel’s war crimes while maintaining a straight face about Western values.
Israel’s atrocities have become so extreme that they’ve offended even its allies, undermining the very value system those allies claim to stand for. In turn, Tel Aviv lashed out, denouncing critical Europeans as anti-Semites or accusing them of launching a “crusade against the Jewish state.”
Israelis continue to dismiss the European shift as a failure of messaging. The mass atrocities in Gaza are simply ‘misunderstood’; European critics are ‘uninformed’ or reviving the ancient blood libel. The same logic is applied to activists. This week, the Israeli navy raided a Gaza-bound aid boat, arresting Greta Thunberg and others, and reportedly plans to screen footage of the October 7 attacks to them.
The result: European governments are engulfed in a moral panic, facing a moment of reckoning. They’ve been put on the defensive, caught between the universal human rights they claim to uphold and the growing outrage of their own citizens, who have had enough of Israeli impunity and exceptionalism.
Today, less than a fifth of people in six Western European countries hold favourable views of Israel, according to YouGov. Weekly mass protests demanding an end to the Gaza genocide have become the norm. As the gap widens between public sentiment and official policy, so does the crisis of representation, and with it, the meaning of liberal democracy. Another reason for panic.
And the crisis doesn’t end in Europe. Gaza has become a rallying point for the Global South to challenge the post-WWII political order.
Western double standards have come home to roost. European governments have betrayed their own ‘universal values’, values they have long used as a moral weapon against the rest of the world. In doing so, the EU now risks eroding its credibility and diminishing its global influence.
Israelis continue to think of the European shift as Israel’s ‘failure to explain’. The mass atrocities in Gaza and elsewhere are just ‘misunderstood’, and the European critics are ‘uninformed’ or reinventing the ancient blood libel against Jews. The same applies to activists. The Israeli navy this week raided the Gaza-bound aid boat and arrested Greta Thunberg and other activists, and reportedly plans to screen ‘October 7 attacks’ to them.
The end result, European governments found themselves engulfed with a moral panic, facing a moment of truth. They have been put on the defensive vis-à-vis their value system that for decades promoted universal human rights, and against the majority of their outraged citizens who have had enough with Israeli crimes. Certainly with Israeli exceptionalism and impunity.
Less than a fifth of the population of 6 Western European countries today, according the YouGov, have favourable views of Israel. Weekly mass protests across Europe calling to stop the Gaza genocide have become the norm, too. With the increased gap between the people and the governments, the dilemma of representativeness and, with it, the meaning of liberal democracy. Another cause for panic.
And it does not end in Europe. Gaza has also become the hook upon which the so-called Global South hung on to challenge the political structure and international order after WWII.
The common view is that Western double standards are coming home to roost. European governments betrayed themselves and the ‘universal values’ they routinely weaponised against countries outside the Western sphere. The EU is accordingly running the risk of undermining its moral credibility and international influence.
Too little, but probably not too late
Whether driven by moral panic, fear of reckoning, or a principled stand, as seen in Spain and Ireland, the question is whether Europe’s shift will have any real impact on Israel.
Spain cancelled arms contracts with Israel. The UK suspended bilateral trade talks with Tel Aviv. France is now speaking of sanctions and recognising Palestine. The EU is reviewing its association agreement with Israel.
These measures are expected to escalate if Israel continues its offensive and blockade, and should, in principle, be felt in Tel Aviv. But the shift is clouded by internal EU divisions on Israel, which will ultimately shape the scope and impact of any action.
Then there’s the Washington factor, its dominance in the region, and the reluctance of some European governments to chart a course independent of the White House. It may be too soon to call Europe’s response a true policy shift. But regardless of the motive, it is the only way forward. Genocide is not a matter of opinion.
Dr Emad Moussa is a Palestinian-British researcher and writer specialising in the political psychology of intergroup and conflict dynamics, focusing on MENA with a special interest in Israel/Palestine. He has a background in human rights and journalism, and is currently a frequent contributor to multiple academic and media outlets, in addition to being a consultant for a US-based think tank.
Follow him on Twitter: @emadmoussa
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