Palestinian cause central to political landscape in Europe
4 Min Read
This could carry repercussions for the EU's position on "Israel", thus driving policies with more decision-making power at a national level.
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A boy waves a Palestinian flag as demonstrators march during a protest in support of Palestinians and calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in Barcelona, Spain, on January 20, 2024. (AP)
A shift in politics in Europe has created a scare for mainstream parties as more pro-Palestine supporters in the Old Continent are gearing more toward left-leaning parties with a more vocal pro-Palestine stance.
Blandine Chelini-Pont, a historian at Aix-Marseille University, said that far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) is seeking to ban arms and impose sanctions on "Israel" while recognizing a Palestinian state, as well as refrain from calling the Palestinian Resistance Hamas a "terrorist group", thus attracting Muslim and radical-left voters.
LFI lawmaker Sebastien Delogu told Reuters, "Some will say we are surfing on an electorate but who are we speaking about? These are citizens of this country who do not have a racist vision of society."
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Even though France's Socialists also want to recognize the state of Palestine, they do not have the same stance as LFI on Hamas.
French-Palestinian lawyer Rima Hassan has been named as a candidate by LFI, as she is known to be active on social media and is urging the EU to suspend its association agreement with "Israel".
"Voting for Rima is an act of resistance," Chama Tahiri Ivorra, a 34-year-old French-Moroccan chef, said, "I don't know all the points on LFI's program but what she and their other members say about Palestine is just," noting that she has never voted but now intends to.
Palestine has become 'central' to debate
Over in Germany, pro-Palestinian startup parties are destroying support for the Greens and Social Democrats, infamous for their staunch support for "Israel" due to Germany's historical responsibility for the Holocaust.
Notable pro-Palestinian startups in Germany include socially conservative groups like DAVA and BIG and the eurosceptic party BSW, which is pursuing to block arms to "Israel". Supporters of BSW are 50% more likely to recognize a Palestinian state than the overall German electorate.
Meanwhile, in Spain, the Socialist Party (PSOE) and far-left Sumar have gained more support after officially recognizing the state of Palestine, alongside Ireland and Norway.
David Hernandez, professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, said, "The Palestinian issue has become central to the political debate in Spain".
Samira Azabar, a sociologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands, said, "We have a rise in radical right and radical left parties, [which will] reshape the policy landscape in Europe, the balance of power of several parties," adding that it could carry repercussions for the EU's position on "Israel", thus driving policies with more decision-making power at a national level.
Read more: UN experts urge all countries to recognize Palestinian statehood
Azabar relayed that ethnic minorities were among those with lower turnout than the general population in EU elections, but support for Gaza will reverse that.
Teyfik Özcan, chairman of DAVA, a new party for Turkish diaspora voters, revealed that foreign policy issues highly impact the ethnic minority vote. Özcan, a former SPD member, said DAVA offered voters the option of a protest vote that didn't exist until today. "Germans have the opportunity to say, 'Okay, I'm voting for the (far-right) AfD in protest.' Muslims cannot do that," he told Reuters.
This comes after more than 200 staff members from EU institutions and agencies, in their capacity as citizens, have collectively voiced their "growing concern" regarding the EU's handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, asserting that it contradicts the organization's fundamental principles and mission of fostering peace.
The letter underscored that "to stand idly by in the face of such an erosion of the international rule of law would mean failing the European project as envisaged by them. This cannot happen in our name."
