Europe feels fallout of conflict in Gaza

Public opinion becomes more fractious with views sharply divided by tensions

Fallout from the Palestine-Israel conflict is increasingly being felt in Europe, including through social polarization and antagonism, as sharply divided views on the conflict pit Europeans against one another, analysts say.

Israel has said it is ready to continue its fight against Hamas for months or even longer as it escalates its ground offensive with more airstrikes and artillery fire.

United Nations agencies have reported that about 90 percent of Gaza's population, or 2.3 million people, has been displaced in the besieged region.

The UN World Food Programme said that nearly all of those in the enclave are experiencing prolonged periods without access to food, and half of the displaced Palestinians are suffering from severe malnutrition.

Israel's counterattack on Gaza, after a surprise cross-border assault on Oct 7 in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and captured 240 hostages, has killed close to 19,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. Thousands more are feared buried under rubble.

Zhao Yongsheng, a professor at the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that when the Palestine-Israel conflict broke out European Union policymakers and EU member governments followed the United States and overwhelmingly stood on the side of Israel and condemned Hamas for its attack. However, as Israel's military offensive in Gaza intensified and took more civilians' lives, public sentiment in Europe has shifted, putting pressure on governments.

Over the past two months, people across Europe have organized demonstrations demanding that fighting end. There have also been demonstrations against antisemitism amid concern over the rising number of antisemitic incidents in Europe since the outbreak of the conflict.

The European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned on Dec 5 that there is a "huge risk" of terrorist attacks in the EU as Christmas approaches, due to the Palestine-Israel conflict and the polarization it has caused in Europe.

He Yun, an associate professor of the School of Public Policy at Hunan University, said differences between European government stances and public opinion on the Palestine-Israel conflict risk severely eroding political legitimacy and civic trust.

Governments need to remain responsive to their citizens' wants and concerns, she said. "The longer the bombing campaigns and military escalations persist amid civilian fatalities, the more strained government credibility becomes, as public calls for a cease-fire go unheeded. European governments in particular face allegations of moral hypocrisy and indifference toward Palestinian suffering."

The Palestine-Israel conflict is an extremely polarized issue, with complex historical grievances on both sides, she said. When European governments take overtly biased stances aligned to only one party it inflames communal tensions along ethnic and religious lines within Europe's diverse societies and serves to fracture social cohesion.

Zhao said that though many countries are still supportive of Israel, they also hope to secure humanitarian aid, temporary cease-fires and prisoner exchanges because calls by the public for a cease-fire have increased.

"EU member governments are finding it difficult to balance between their political considerations and public opinion."

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday at an EU summit in Brussels that the EU is losing its credibility because of a lack of a strong position in the Palestine-Israel conflict, urging his counterparts to call for a humanitarian cease-fire. His demand is backed by his Belgian, Spanish and Maltese counterparts, who wrote a joint letter to the European Council before the summit.

As global public opinion has turned against Israel's military offensive, more EU governments are likely to shift their attitudes, Zhao said.