Pro-Palestinian activists staged a major demonstration in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, October second, following Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. The protest took place in front of the European Parliament, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered with Palestinian flags and banners, chanting slogans in support of Gaza and condemning Israel’s actions.
Archiv: Horizon Europe (program) / 2021-2027
EU chief welcomes Trump Gaza plan
„I welcome President (Trump‘s) plan to end the war in Gaza and I am encouraged by Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu‘s positive response,“ Costa said on X.
„The situation in Gaza is intolerable. Hostilities must end, and all hostages must be released immediately,“ he added.
60.000 Menschen demonstrieren gegen Gaza-Krieg
Zu der Demonstration in der Innenstadt hat ein Bündnis von etwa 50 Gruppen aufgerufen, darunter propalästinensische Gruppen, Medico International, Amnesty International und die Partei Die Linke. Im Demo-Aufruf wurde die Bundesregierung zu einer Kursumkehr in der Nahost-Politik aufgefordert.
»All Eyes on Gaza« kann nur der Anfang sein
Eine Außenministerin verteidigt das Bombardieren von Krankenhäusern und Schulen; ein Bundeskanzler beschreibt einen illegalen, unprovozierten Luftkrieg als notwendige »Drecksarbeit«; Politiker und Journalisten stellen immer wieder infrage, ob die grausamen Bilder von Massenmord in Gaza nicht vielleicht doch gestellt sind. Demonstrierende werden auf Berliner Straßen von der Polizei brutal zusammengeschlagen, und die liberalen Stimmen, die sonst ihre Bereitschaft, für die freie Meinungsäußerung zu sterben, laut kundtun, bleiben auf einmal still. Eine unfassbare Entmenschlichung macht sich breit, und diejenigen, die diese kritisieren – darunter nicht wenige Menschen jüdischer Abstammung – werden als Antisemiten diffamiert. Es fühlt sich nicht selten so an, als würde Deutschland eine Parallelrealität bewohnen.
EU science grants are funding Israeli military tech, data shows
(August 30, 2025)
The Horizon Europe program, described by the EU as ‘a scientific research initiative to develop a sustainable and livable society in Europe,’ has awarded around 475 million euros to 348 Israeli start-ups and research projects since October 2023, many of which are run by former IDF soldiers and intelligence officers.
In 2024, the EU awarded grants of €220m to 179 companies and initiatives run by Israelis. The scale of this funding, coming in a year when the world’s pre-eminent genocide experts all declared Israel was committing a genocide, a year in which entire cities were wiped out and tens of thousands of civilians murdered, is staggering.
In the same year Israel was also the third largest recipient, behind France and Germany, of ‘accelerator’ grants, a separate component of the Horizon program intended to support small and medium-sized companies working to improve life in Europe.
LIVE: Greta Thunberg Speaks from Gaza Flotilla After Drone Attack
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca P. Albanese, and Swedish environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, speak about reported attack on Flotilla.
Thunberg said on Tuesday (September 23) that symbolic gestures like the recognition of the state of Palestine would „lead nowhere unless they are accompanied by real action“, as she sailed aboard a humanitarian flotilla heading to Gaza.
Kallas calls on Germany to stop hindering EU diplomacy in Gaza
(Updated 17/09/2025 – 11:04 GMT+2)
To make good on von der Leyen’s announcement, Kallas told Euronews that the commission would propose on Wednesday reimposing duties on Israeli goods in response to the war in Gaza and ongoing violations in the West Bank.
But suspending trade with Israel would require a qualified majority vote, and Germany leads the front of European countries opposing sanctions on the Jewish state, owing to the role it played in the Holocaust.
Gaza: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion
The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza, Palestine, are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.
The statement is below:
Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion
Gaza, 17 Sept 2025: The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.
As world leaders convene next week at the United Nations, we are calling on all member states to act in accordance with the mandate the UN was charged with 80 years ago.
….
Gaza: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion
The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.
GAZA: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion
The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.
The statement is below:
Gaza: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion
Wednesday September 17, 2025
The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza, including Islamic Relief, are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed. The statement is below:
As world leaders convene next week at the United Nations, we are calling on all member states to act in accordance with the mandate the UN was charged with 80 years ago.
What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide. With this finding, the Commission joins a growing number of human rights organisations and leaders globally, and within Israel.
The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. As humanitarian leaders, we have borne direct witness to the horrifying deaths and suffering of the people of Gaza. Our warnings have gone unheeded and thousands more lives are still at stake.
Now, as the Israeli government has ordered the mass displacement of Gaza City – home to nearly one million people – we are on the precipice of an even deadlier period in Gaza’s story if action is not taken. Gaza has been deliberately made uninhabitable.
About 65,000 Palestinians have now been killed, including more than 20,000 children. Thousands more are missing, buried under the rubble that has replaced Gaza’s once lively streets.
Nine out of 10 people in Gaza’s 2.1 million population have been forcibly displaced — most of them multiple times — into increasingly shrinking pockets of land that cannot sustain human life.
More than half a million people are starving. Famine has been declared and is spreading. The cumulative impact of hunger and physical deprivation means people are dying every day.
Throughout Gaza, entire cities have been razed to the ground, along with their life-sustaining public infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants. Agricultural land has been systemically destroyed.
If the facts and numbers aren’t enough, we have harrowing story upon harrowing story.
Since the Israeli military tightened its siege six months ago, blocking food, fuel, and medicine, we witnessed children and families waste away from starvation as famine took hold. Our colleagues too have been impacted.
Many of us have been into Gaza. We have met countless Palestinians who have lost limbs as a result of Israel’s bombardment. We have personally met children so traumatised by daily airstrikes that they cannot sleep. Some cannot speak. Others have told us they want to die to join their parents in heaven.
We have met families who eat animal food to survive and boil leaves as a meal for their children.
Yet world leaders fail to act. Facts are ignored. Testimony is cast aside. And more people are killed as a direct consequence.
Our organisations, together with Palestinian civil society groups, the UN, and Israeli human rights organisations, can only do so much. We have tirelessly tried to defend the rights of the people of Gaza and sustain humanitarian assistance, but we are being obstructed every step of the way.
We have been denied access, and the militarisation of the aid system has proved deadly.
Thousands of people have been shot at while trying to reach the handful of sites where food is distributed under armed guard.
Governments must act to prevent the evisceration of life in the Gaza Strip, and to end the violence and occupation. All parties must disavow violence against civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law and pursue peace.
States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.
The UN enshrined international law as the cornerstone of global peace and security. If Member States continue to treat these legal obligations as optional, they are not only complicit but are setting a dangerous precedent for the future. History will undoubtedly judge this moment as a test of humanity. And we are failing. Failing the people of Gaza, failing the hostages, and failing our own collective moral imperative.
Signed by (in alphabetical order):
– Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International
– Othman Moqbel, Chief Executive Officer, Action For Humanity
– Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of American Friends Service Committee
– Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera
– Reintje Van Haeringen, Executive Director CARE International
– Jonas Nøddekær, Secretary General of DanChurchAid
– Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council
– Manuel Patrouillard, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
– Jamie Munn, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
– Waseem Ahmad, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
– Joseph Belliveau, Executive Director of MedGlobal
– Joel Weiler, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde France
– Nicolás Dotta, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde Spain
– Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières International
– Kenneth Kim, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
– Ann Graber Hershberger, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee US
– Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
– Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director
– Simon Panek, CEO, People in Need
– Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International
– Donatella Vergara, President of Terre des Hommes Italy
– Rob Williams, CEO of War Child Alliance
Over 20 NGOs Demand Intervention following UN Genocide Finding on Gaza
„Some children have told us they want to die to join their parents in heaven,” the statement read.
Despite repeated warnings, the groups said, “facts are ignored, testimony is cast aside, and more people are killed as a direct consequence.”
The aid leaders urged governments to move beyond rhetoric and “use every available political, economic, and legal tool” to prevent the further destruction of Gaza and end Israel’s occupation.
“If Member States continue to treat these legal obligations as optional, they are not only complicit but are setting a dangerous precedent for the future,” the statement warned.
EU Commission’s Ribera says Israel’s war on Gaza is genocide
Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice president, also said Europe was too divided to do anything about the starvation, displacement and killing of Palestinians.
“The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe’s failure to act and speak with one voice, even as protests spread across European cities and 14 U.N. Security Council members call for an immediate ceasefire,” Ribera told students at Sciences Po in a speech Thursday morning.
Pedro Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a failure
“What we’re now witnessing in Gaza is perhaps one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century, and in this regard what I have to say is that Spain has been very vocal within the EU and also within the international community,” he said. “Within the EU, what we have done so far is advocate to suspend the strategic partnership that the EU has with Israel.”
Informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas after the meeting
(August 30, 2025)
Q. Can you point to one concrete step regarding Israel that the countries actually agreed on today. After today‘s meeting, do you expect a more unified EU putting pressure on Israel and taking concrete steps?
First, we had an informal Council, so that means that we actually do not adopt decisions here, but we really have the political debates on where is the room. So, no decisions today.
Still no EU action on Israel, despite Gaza famine
Most Israel sanctions options – such as blacklisting settlers, banning settler imports, or imposing an arms embargo – required EU consensus, meaning the Czechs and Israel‘s other top EU ally, Hungary, would veto them.
Some options – such as freezing Horizon or Israel‘s EU free-trade perks – could be done by a qualified majority in the EU Council, but there was no majority without Germany and Italy on board.
Krieg im Gazastreifen: Deutschland will Israel-Sanktionen nicht zustimmen
Ob der Sanktionsvorschlag der Kommission umgesetzt werden kann, hängt davon ab, ob er im Rat der Mitgliedstaaten die Unterstützung einer qualifizierten Mehrheit bekommt – das heißt: 15 der 27 EU-Staaten, die zusammen mindestens 65 Prozent der Bevölkerung der teilnehmenden Mitgliedstaaten repräsentieren, müssen zustimmen. Zuletzt fehlte nur noch die Unterstützung von Deutschland oder Italien. Alle anderen großen EU-Staaten und viele kleinere sind für die Strafmaßnahme.
Außenministertreffen in Dänemark: Deutschland will Israel-Sanktion nicht zustimmen
Die vorgesehene Einstellung von Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen des Forschungsförderungsprogramms Horizon Europe sei eine Maßnahme, die vermutlich keinen Einfluss auf die politische Willensbildung und auf das militärische Vorgehen Israels im Gazastreifen hätte, betonte Wadephul. Deswegen sei man von diesen Vorschlägen nicht so sehr überzeugt.
Open Letter Calling for immediate implementation of EU measures against Israel’s unlawful actions in Gaza & the West Bank
(August 26, 2025)
Open Letter co-signed by 209 former EU and Member State Ambassadors and Senior Staff
Issued ahead of informal meeting of Foreign Ministers Gymnich, 29 – 30 Aug 2025
Addressed to:
Heads of State and Government, and Foreign Ministers of the EU 27 Member States
President of the European Council
President of the European Commission
President of European Parliament
High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy / VP of the Commission
Commissioners for: Mediterranean; Trade; Equality, Preparedness & Crisis Management
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), European Parliament
Strong words, weak action: European Union’s cautious stance on Israel
Data shows that despite strong public opposition by EU member countries to Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and accusations of war crimes by international bodies, the EU remains reluctant to take any meaningful economic action against Israel.
Open Letter co-signed by 206 former EU and Member State Ambassadors and Senior Staff: Calling for immediate implementation of EU measures against Israel’s unlawful actions in Gaza & the West Bank
We, a group now comprising 206 former EU and Member State ambassadors and senior officials, are writing in furtherance of the nine proposed EU actions that we compiled in our open letter of 28 July, in response to the Israeli government’s unlawful actions in Gaza and the West Bank, following Hamas’ heinous attacks on 7 October 2023. We note with dismay that, in the ensuing four weeks since our letter, no ceasefire has been agreed in Gaza, no Israeli hostages
have been released, and, alarmingly, the Israeli government has begun implementing plans to empty Gaza City and its environs of one million Palestinians, by forcing them into concentration areas in the south, in preparation for possible large-scale deportations to third countries with the risk of fomenting a migration crisis. If this was not bad enough the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed on 22 August that a man-made famine now exists in these same areas of Gaza, with half a million people there facing starvation, destitution and death. Malnutrition now threatens the lives of 132,000 children under five through June 2026 and by the end of September 2025 it is estimated
that 640,000 people (a third of the population) will face catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Tragically, already over 200 Gazan citizens, including over 60 children, have succumbed to malnutrition-related deaths. Furthermore:
● Estimates suggest that just since our letter of 28 July more than 2,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children, with over 12,000 injured;
………………………..
Israel‘s attack on Gaza hospital was ‚completely unacceptable‘, EU says
An unprecedented number of former EU and national ambassadors, as well as former senior EU officials, have signed a fresh letter urging the EU to take tougher action against Israel over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The joint letter has been signed by 206 former European ambassadors and officials.
That compares to a previous letter sent in July, which had 58 signatures.
The European Union Is Complicit in Genocide
(August 11, 2025)
The EU presents itself as a global champion of moral and legal leadership, grounded in the principles of human rights, international law, democracy, and humanitarianism. Yet its failure to uphold these values in the case of Palestine severely undermines its credibility. As Israel’s largest trading partner and second-largest arms supplier, the EU possesses considerable leverage; its refusal to use this influence to hold Israel accountable or protect Palestinian lives signals not powerlessness but a conscious choice of complicity. Moreover, given its member states’ historical entanglement in the colonial partitioning of the Middle East, the EU bears a deeper responsibility to act with justice. Its failure to do so today echoes the very dynamics of domination and double standards it claims to have left behind.
EU-Israel: Refusal to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement is a ‘cruel and unlawful betrayal’
(July 15, 2025)
Reacting to the EU’s decision not to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnès Callamard Amnesty International’s Secretary General said:
“The EU’s refusal to suspend its agreement with Israel is a cruel and unlawful betrayal – of the European project and vision, predicated on upholding international law and fighting authoritarian practices, of the European Union’s own rules and of the human rights of Palestinians.
This will be remembered as one of the most disgraceful moments in the EU’s history.
EU diplomats confirm they won‘t yet sanction Israel on Gaza
(August 4, 2025)
Gathered online for their regular Mashreq/Maghreb Working Party and despite mounting pressure on Israel over the hunger crisis in Gaza, the 27 EU diplomats still couldn’t reach any qualified majority on a European Commission proposal to cut Israel from partial access to the EU‘s €95 billion Horizon Europe research fund.
“The situation has not changed,” one EU diplomat said, referring to a formal meeting of EU ambassadors last week which also failed to agree to the Commission’s proposal. The diplomat said the issue was now in the hands of the EU’s foreign affairs ministers, who will meet informally on 29 August.
EU credibility at risk over Israel stance, warns ex-ambassador
(August 6, 2025)
Kühn von Burgsdorff served as EU ambassador to Palestinian occupied territories and the Gaza Strip between January 2020 and July 2023. He was recently a coordinator of a letter sent by 27 former EU ambassadors – and subsequently endorsed by 58 – to heads of governments and EU institutions on July 10, calling for actions against Israel due to the ongoing situations in Gaza and in the West Bank.
Open letter from 34 ex-EU ambassadors: ‚Act now against Israel‘
(July 23, 2025)
The world will remember how the EU and its member states respond to this catastrophic tragedy.
Silence and neutrality in the face of genocide constitute complicity. Inaction emboldens perpetrators and betrays every principle the Union and its member states claim to uphold.
While continuing to call unceasingly for the return of the hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the end to the war, the European Union, long a champion of human rights and the rule of law, must act now in the name of international law, humanity, and justice for the Palestinian people — or risk forfeiting its credibility, influence and moral standing in the world.
Wadephul warnt Israel vor internationaler Isolation
Aus Sicht des Bundesaußenministers Johann Wadephul (CDU) läuft Israel Gefahr, international isoliert zu werden. „Ich sehe es als Deutschlands Aufgabe an, alles dafür zu tun, das zu verhindern“, sagte er beim Besuch in Jerusalem unter Verweis auf eine „nie endende historische Verpflichtung“ für Israels Sicherheit. Es bestehe die Gefahr, dass sich eine Kluft zwischen der Europäischen Union und Israel auftue. Auch mit dem Ziel, das zu verhindern, sei Wadephul nach Israel gereist.
„Es ist jetzt Zeit, diesen Krieg zu beenden“ – Außenminister Wadephul reist nach Israel und die Palästinensischen Gebiete
Hierzu erklärte Außenminister Wadephul:
Deutschland ist überzeugt: Um den Konflikt nachhaltig zu lösen, bleibt eine verhandelte Zweistaatenlösung der einzige Weg, der den Menschen auf beiden Seiten ein Leben in Frieden, Sicherheit und Würde ermöglicht. Für Deutschland steht die Anerkennung eines palästinensischen Staats eher am Ende des Prozesses. Aber ein solcher Prozess muss jetzt beginnen. Deutschland wird von diesem Ziel nicht weichen. Auf einseitige Schritte wird auch Deutschland gezwungen sein, zu reagieren.
“It is time now to end this war” – Foreign Minister Wadephul travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories
Foreign Minister Wadephul stated:
Germany is convinced that in order to resolve the conflict permanently, a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to enable people on both sides to live in peace, security and dignity. Germany regards recognition of a Palestinian state as a step more at the end of the process. However, such a process must now begin. Germany will not deviate from this goal. And Germany will be forced to react to any unilateral steps.
Pressure piles on Merz to punish Israel over Gaza
(July 30, 2025)
The German chancellor is increasingly isolated among Europe’s big beasts for refusing to endorse a Brussels plan to suspend EU research ties with Israel.
Israel has not been eliminated from the world‘s largest research program, for now
The European Commission held a discussion on Tuesday regarding a proposal to suspend Israel’s participation in parts of Horizon Europe—the world’s largest research and development program for scientific and industrial cooperation—but the meeting ended without a decision. According to diplomatic sources, two major member states, reportedly Germany and Italy, opposed the proposal, preventing the necessary majority for its adoption.