Gaza: the backstory

How did the ceasefire collapse?

After months of negotiations during the brutal Gaza war, a ceasefire came into effect between Israel and Hamas on the 19th of January 2025. The first phase of this ceasefire, a mutual exchange of prisoners, was meant to lead to a second phase, entailing the release of the remaining hostages and a permanent ceasefire. This meant life saving supplies finally reaching Gaza’s two million inhabitants.

Apr 11, 2025

Hamas publicly humiliated the hostages before their release, provoking the Israeli government, and continuing the violent cycle.  Trump suggested to permanently displace Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants, which would be a violation of international law and a form of ethnic cleansing. He proposed a US takeover of Gaza, with soldiers if necessary, joking about turning it into real estate property, with reconstruction paid for by neighbouring countries.

The US then proposed revising the terms of the ceasefire unilaterally, which excluded the path to a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. To prevent the ceasefire from moving to the second phase, Israel re-imposed a total blockade on Gaza on 2 March to add pressure, also cutting off all electricity. A lack of basic food and medical products caused preventable deaths. Then, on the 18th of March, Israel launched attacks on Gaza. Attempts to restore the ceasefire, including a recent visit by French President Macron to Cairo with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan, have so far failed to make a difference.

The link with Netanyahu’s attacks on democracy in Israel

Netanyahu is attempting to frame the latest escalation as him coming to the defense of the hostages. But this is not a dominant opinion in Israel, where the society is deeply divided. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has accused the government of "a complete deception" by pulling out of a deal "that could have brought everyone home."

Netanyahu is facing domestic legal and political crises, a result of his attempts to destroy the rule of law in Israel. Only mass protests last year could stop a controversial reform of the judicial system. But he is now attempting to destroy the few remaining bastions of legal independence and free speech in Israel. Continued violence in Gaza provides him with the arguments to further consolidate power. All the steps taken on this path to autocracy have to be reversed.

In just the past week, he has tried to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, orchestrated a no-confidence vote on the attorney general, and passed a law to change how Supreme Court appointments happen. The government has also sanctioned the respected, government critical Haaretz newspaper. The hard right Jewish Power party has announced it will return to the coalition, including former minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Is genocide being committed?

On November 21, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC)  issued warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the deliberate starvation of civilians. Arrest warrants were also issued for Hamas leaders, since diseased. This imposes an obligation to all EU Member States, and other parties to the Rome Statute, to arrest those individuals and seize all non-essential contact. Europe has a special historical responsibility to defend human rights.  So the fact that Hungary withdrew from the ICC and gave Netanyahu a podium in a European capital, and leading politicians in Poland, Germany, France, and others have cast doubts about enforcing the arrest warrants, is shameful.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, over 1,700 Israelis  and more than 50,000  Palestinians, including over 15,000 Palestinian children, have been reported as killed. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. In January, the International Court of Justice found it is plausible that Israel had committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention. Since then, interim measures by the ICJ to prevent genocide have been largely ignored by Israel. While historically, full legal certainty only arrives after crimes against humanity have already taken place, we see all actors having a duty and a role in urging Israel’s government in upholding the interim measures. Because it is plausible that genocide is being committed. Israel's noncompliance with the interim measures is unacceptable and the response from most European governments and the response of the European Commission is ridiculously minimal in words and is accompanied by a total lack of action. The UN Human Rights Council has also recently concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met.

Which crimes against international law are being committed?

Israel repeatedly claims that “Hamas members or command centers” are present at locations where civilian casualties are recorded — without providing evidence. At the same time, international and independent investigations are not permitted, with journalists barred from Gaza. Over 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza, often deliberately targeted by Israeli forces. On the 23rd of March, Israeli forces killed 15 aid workers and paramedics, subsequently attempting to cover up the incident by burying them in a mass grave. This is an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law that must be strongly condemned by the European Council. We call for an independent international investigation. If Israel refuses to cooperate, additional sanctions must be imposed. 

ICC staff,  including the Chief Prosecutor, have been the target of intimidation by the Israeli intelligence forces. The US government has also sanctioned the ICC. The Israeli government has also declared the UN Secretary General ''persona non grata'', and has engaged in a delegitimisation campaign against UNRWA (the only aid agency with the capacity to deliver significant aid on the ground) as a supposed terrorist organisation, contributing to worsening the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. 

The International Court of Justice in its 2024 advisory opinion found that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories constitutes systemic discrimination and is in breach of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid. The Illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories also prevents the creation of a legitimate and well functioning Palestinian State. 

Israel has also broken a ceasefire in Lebanon, where its forces routinely fired directly on UNIFIL forces.  It is also illegally occupying parts of Syria, having expanded a previously defined buffer zone after the fall of the Assad regime. This adds on to the difficulties for the transitional authorities to establish strong, democratic and inclusive governance over all of Syria, and this destabilises an already weak economy precisely when reconstruction and redevelopment is key. 

In summary: no one should be above the law

In light of the current situation, the lack of a coordinated strategy within the EU, and the West more generally,  undermines the legitimacy and effectiveness of an independent international legal system, the cornerstone of our post-war multilateral order. 

Failure to act on the rulings of the system of international law that Europe helped found would be a betrayal of the values we stand for. It would also set a dangerous global precedent in a world increasingly marked by actors who think 'might makes right', and where strong relations with countries from the Global South are critical to solving the many transnational challenges that we face. Only a sustainable political solution that is supported by Israelis and Palestinians, and that leads to the peaceful co-existence of two states will ultimately bring a safe, democratic and just future for all communities affected by this horrible war. 

This can only be based on fair and independent justice. Because no one is above the law. 

Our evolving position:

The October 7th massacre was a horrible terrorist attack by Hamas, part of a decade-long conflict in the region that set in motion a wider regional war. Much has happened since then. That cycle of violence must finally be broken. Below you can find Volt’s position as it evolved throughout the war.