Brussels, Belgium – European Parliament elections traditionally focus on issues such as the cost of living, agricultural policies, climate change and the European Union’s migration policy.
But as the continent prepared for this week’s critical votes, a new issue came to the forefront: Palestine.
How European politicians approach Israel’s war on Gaza, violence in the occupied West Bank and the future of Palestine has become a central theme guiding political discourse and voters’ choices in the 27-nation bloc.
“Personally, I perceive it (Palestine) as a crucial factor that allows voters to see the true colors of the parties they support,” said Maruska, who has Slovenian-Italian roots and will vote in the European elections in this year for the first time.
“I will vote from Germany, and there is only one party that supports this cause – MeRA25,” she added, referring to the left-wing pro-Palestinian European political group.
For Thomas Maddens, a Belgium-based filmmaker and activist, Palestine is a subject of colonial dynamics that European politicians should address in light of the continent’s history.
“For me, if you can’t get it right on Palestine, I won’t vote for you,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Around 373 million people are eligible to vote in the elections which will be held from Thursday to Sunday. They will elect 720 members of the European Parliament. In addition to playing a crucial role in shaping European policies, these lawmakers also elect the bloc’s top leaders, such as the foreign policy chief and the president of the European Commission.
Marc Botenga, of the left-wing Belgian Workers’ Party and an MEP campaigning to keep his seat, said: “During my travels around the country to campaign, I saw people talking about classic election topics like power purchasing, climate change and migration. But this year, discussions on Palestine were a central topic.”
He added: “I think EU citizens have seen how establishment politicians really like to talk about Ukraine and say how much the bloc really needs to support Ukraine, to support it. give weapons and money to win the war. But with Palestine, there has been a certain degree of hypocrisy and double standards. People want this to stop. The way in which politicians approach Palestine will therefore influence the European elections.”
Johannes Fehr, one of Germany’s leading candidates for MeRA25, said many Europeans want to be on the right side of history by voting this year.
“Many people want their European leaders to stop supporting the genocide in Gaza as well as the opportunity to vote for a truly international option that represents not only people in one country but everywhere,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“We are a pro-Palestinian party and in Germany we have seen a lot of resistance from almost all major parties, from the Palestinian Congress to our posters on Free Palestine being constantly torn down and even burned. But we don’t give up. »
“Europeans are better represented by Macklemore than by the European Commission”
The war in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank have seen millions of people across the EU and around the world demonstrate for months for a ceasefire.
In Brussels, even diplomats and staff members of European institutions took to the streets.
“It is quite unusual to see civil servants protesting like this,” a European official told Tel Aviv Tribune. “But the sickening horror of what Israel is doing in Palestine is hard to ignore. »
The conflict, along with the recognition of Palestine as a state, has become something of a litmus test for the European elections, according to a European Parliament staffer.
“Candidates who talk about human rights and climate justice in their campaigns but remain silent on (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza reveal inconsistencies in their political agenda and prove that we (the EU ) are still far from addressing the intersectionality of social and civic issues. and environmental rights,” the staffer told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Ukraine was an easy moral victory for European centrist politicians. They were happy to criticize the war crimes of a belligerent neighboring power when it came to Russia. But when it was Israel killing civilians, they suddenly couldn’t find their voice,” another EU official said.
“Europeans find themselves better represented by Macklemore than by the European Commission.”
At least 36,586 Palestinians have been killed and 83,074 injured in Gaza since October 7 during Israel’s assault, by far its deadliest war against the enclave.
The campaign began after Hamas, which rules Gaza, sharply escalated the historic conflict by launching incursions into southern Israel in which 1,139 people were killed and more than 200 captured.
The European Parliament called for “an unconditional ceasefire” and for Israel to open all humanitarian aid crossing points into Gaza.
Meanwhile, EU members Spain, Ireland and Slovenia announced their decision to recognize Palestine as a state.
“Foreign affairs is often a political football in the European Parliament. Political groups like Spain’s right-wing politicians often put Latin American countries on the European Parliament’s agenda in an attempt to embarrass the left and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). But in recent months the battlefield is increasingly Palestine,” an EU diplomat told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“After the elections, I don’t think it will be about ‘I am Israel, you are Palestine,’ but rather about politicians who favor international law versus those who are willing to defend genocide,” he added. Diplomat.
European lawmakers currently sit in Parliament in seven political groups: S&D, European People’s Party (EPP), Renew Europe, Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Identity and Democracy (ID). ) and The Left.
According to Hussein Baoumi, foreign policy advocate at Amnesty International, politicians from left-wing parties spoke openly about Palestine during election campaigns.
Meanwhile, European lawmakers from right-wing political groups have taken a cautious stance or refrained from commenting on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“If you watch the campaign video of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it is clear that she is trying to distance herself from the war in Gaza and has not published any photos of her meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“But for mainland voters, while the Palestinian factor is important, domestic issues like the cost of living and Russia’s war in Ukraine are more pressing. The war in Gaza will not make or break the European elections,” Baoumi predicted.
But for Marco, a Belgian voter, “the legitimacy and credibility of Europe are at stake”.
“Good luck explaining to voters why we must support Ukraine’s right to self-determination while denying the same right to Palestinians and arming the oppressor. This kind of double standard is hard to ignore,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.