If you thought it was hard getting 27 nations to speak with one voice when it came to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, just follow the wrangling over the EU summit's wording of its call to spare lives in Gaza. It is easy to dismiss the semantic nuances between ceasefire, truce and lull, but it should matter.
After all, Europe too has citizens caught up in the conflict, the bloc is the biggest donor to the Palestinian Territories, and back home it has millions of citizens – Muslims, Jews and Christians – who all feel a stake in the unfolding eruption. And while the US has put its military might behind Israel, Europe finds itself in a difficult balancing act.
We ask about France dispatching a hospital ship for Gaza while talking up a coalition to crush Hamas, the historical divides between the likes of Germany and Spain over the Middle East and more broadly, how to manage rage that is splitting political families and fuelling the worst kind of identity politics.
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Louise Guibert.
