The aid worker’s death has stunned Israel’s European allies.Some are considering halting arms sales

LONDON (AP) – The words coming from some of Israel’s closest allies were stunning, with strong statements such as “appalled,” “outraged” and “no more excuses.”

The Israeli military’s killing of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip has drawn unprecedented criticism from European leaders who have stepped up calls for a ceasefire and in some cases halted arms sales to Israel as the war’s toll mounts. caused.

The attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy was a combination of support for the Allies, who were badly attacked on October 7, and growing public pressure to end a war over which they had little control. This further exacerbates the dilemma faced by European politicians who are caught in the middle.

“Nothing can justify such a tragedy,” French Foreign Minister Sebastien Séjournet said after Monday’s attack. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by the deaths of the aid workers, three of whom were British nationals.

Britain summoned the Israeli ambassador to reprimand him for the killing. The same goes for Poland, where Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski expressed “moral outrage” after losing one of its citizens.

Elsewhere in Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said attacks on aid workers were “absolutely unacceptable” and Australian leader Anthony Albanese said his country was “outraged”.

Israel said the attack, which killed an aid worker and a Palestinian driver, was a tragic mistake. The military fired two officers and reprimanded three others for violating military rules of engagement.

Julie Norman, associate professor of politics and international relations at University College London, said fears of conflict were already high in Europe and Monday’s attack “accelerated it and made it more publicized”.

“Things that used to be said more quietly are now being said much louder,” she says.

When Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis in a cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7, Israel’s European allies strongly supported its right to fight back.

Within weeks, some expressed concern about the increasing bloodshed. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire in November. Mr. Sunak has moved from supporting a “humanitarian moratorium” to supporting a “during ceasefire” conditional on Hamas releasing Israeli hostages and ceasing attacks.

Germany is one of Israel’s closest allies, and given the memory of the Holocaust, we tread carefully when criticizing its actions. The government continues to be careful to emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself, while increasing its criticism of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Prime Minister Olaf Scholz has expressed concern about the cost of the war, asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting last month whether any goals could “justify such a horribly high cost.”

Palestinians, aid workers and international rights groups say Western outrage over the death of a foreign aid worker stands in contrast to the subdued response to the suffering of Gaza residents. More than 33,000 people have died in Hamas-held areas, including more than 220 humanitarian workers, according to the Ministry of Health. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are at risk of starvation.

Nomi Bayakov, an associate fellow in the international security program at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank, said it was “unfortunate” that he decided to attack international aid workers in order to get leaders’ attention. “But unfortunately that is the reality.”

In the wake of the World Central Kitchen attack, pressure is mounting on European governments to move from criticism to halting arms sales to Israel.

The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a non-binding resolution to that effect on Friday. Among Europe’s 47 countries, only Germany voted against it, as did the United States.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday that his country had suspended arms sales to Israel and urged other countries to do the same. In February, Canada announced it would suspend future shipments, and that same month a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to stop exporting F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, but the Dutch government said it would appeal.

In the UK, more than 600 British legal scholars, including three former Supreme Court justices, have taken note of the International Court of Justice’s conclusion that there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, and that arms shipments to Israel are prohibited. asked the government to stop it.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “I don’t think we have any choice but to stop arms sales.” She said: “The UK’s arms export licenses require recipients to comply with international humanitarian law.”

The suspension of arms sales would be an important political statement for Britain, but it would not have a major impact on the war. Britain sold just £42 million ($53 million) worth of defense equipment to Israel in 2022, according to the British government.

The only country with significant influence is the United States, which has also begun to tighten its stance toward Israel. President Joe Biden told Netanyahu in a phone call Thursday that continued U.S. support for the war depends on Israel taking further action to protect civilians and aid workers. Hours later, Israel announced it would open new aid routes to Gaza and increase the amount of food and other supplies coming into the region.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Verbock said on Friday that Germany expected “the Israeli government to implement the announcement quickly.”

“No more excuses,” she wrote to X. It’s a tone that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, approving 326.5 million euros ($354 million) in defense exports last year, according to the German news agency dpa.

Asked on Friday under what circumstances Germany would consider suspending arms deliveries to Israel, government spokesman Christian Hoffmann said: “Arms exports are always decided on a case-by-case basis… and human rights issues.”

Bar Yakov said European countries’ decision to halt arms supplies unless Israel complies with international law “makes a huge difference” by increasing pressure on the United States to take tough action of its own.

“The question is how much pressure and influence President Joe Biden is prepared to exert on Prime Minister Netanyahu to ensure an end to the war,” she said.

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Associated Press writers Gail Moulson in Berlin, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, ​​Thomas Adamson and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Vanessa Gera and Monika Cislowska in Warsaw contributed to this article.