Foreign Affairs minister Eli Cohen spoke at the European Parliament to underscore the importance of the Israeli response against Hamas in Gaza amid public unrest

The only reason for the Gaza-Israeli war and the civilian killings is Hamas, and the fight against the terrorist organisation must be won, or it might spread to the whole West, said the Foreign Affairs minister of Israel Eli Cohen at the European Parliament (EP) on 8 November in Brussels.

“There is one only cause for the murder of civilians in Israel and Gaza, and that cause is Hamas. […] This is not just the war of the state of Israel but that of the free world, and we have to win this war to ensure that the West is not the next,” the Israeli minister urged during a session chaired by the Spanish MEP, Antonio López-Istúriz, chair of the EP Delegation for relations with Israel, where several relatives of Israeli people kidnapped one month ago were present, along with MEPs and representatives of the Jewish community.

Cohen spoke to strengthen the reasons behind the vehement Israeli reaction against Gaza, caused by the horrific attacks that on 7 October led to the death of 1,400 and the kidnapping of some 240 people, amid public opinion unrest in Europe and other countries worldwide that are divided on the issue, as several public demonstrations showed in the last weeks, for the humanitarian repercussions of the war on Gaza.

The Israeli minister’s statements were strengthened by some declarations by one of the hostages’ relatives who were in the panel, who saw his entire family kidnapped by Hamas. Talking about the situation in Israel, he said this “is Jihad,” and the aim is to kill everybody. And not just in Israel. “They [the terrorists] are knocking at your doors, the West is the next”. And then, referring to the several demonstrations happening these weeks, he wondered: people say “free Palestine,” but they should say “free us from Hamas.”

Unlike those portions of public opinion demonstrating against Israeli attacks and some other countries worldwide sharing the same idea, Western governments, NATO, and the EU institutions are compact supporting Israel in the right for itself defence, in respect of “international and humanitarian law”. Israeli is currently carrying out an airstrike campaign on Gaza with land intervention pending for weeks, but the country hasn’t physically occupied the Strip so far.

To give even more strength to his words, Cohen put these days’ happenings – which are the last chapter of a multi-faceted conflict ongoing for more than 70 years – in a historical perspective, stating that Israel showed its best intentions towards Gaza.

After Israel withdrew from the Strip in 2005, the area received billions of funding from many countries in the world. Meanwhile, Israel has provided the Strip with water, communication, electricity, and sewage networks since then. All this, Cohen said, was done “to build a new Singapore, but they [Hamas] built rocket factories,” leaving people living in terrible conditions. “It’s a compliment to call them beasts.”

But it’s not just about Hamas. Cohen also spoke about the involvement of Iran in the situation to stop the peace process in the region. Israel is not only under attack by Hamas but also Hezbollah and the Hutsi in Yemen, he said. Iran connects them all with the “goal of stopping the normalisation of the peace process which took place in the last years.”

Indeed, as many have said, one of the reasons behind Hamas ’attacks has been the willingness to sabotage the continuation of the Abraham agreements for the normalisation of Israeli relationships with several Arab nations carried out since 2020. Before the war, progress on the process was ongoing with Saudi Arabia.

On the same day of the European parliament’s conference, the G7 ministers of Foreign Affairs gathered in Tokyo reaffirmed once again the right of Israel for self-defence in line with international humanitarian law, calling on Hamas “for the immediate release of hostages without pre-conditions.” Ministers also urged actions to address the “deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza” by allowing unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians. The issue is going to be discussed in Paris in an ad hoc conference on 9 November.

Meanwhile, G7 ministers committed to work “to prepare work for long-term solution solutions for Gaza and a return to a broader peace process in line with international parameters,” meaning that the “only path” is for the future of the overall Israeli-Palestinian solution, a two-state solution, and a stop to the settlers’ behaviour in the Western Bank as it “threatens prospect for a lasting peace.”

Caterina Tani from Brussels