EU staff around the world have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticising her "unconditional support" of Israel. The letter, which lays bare deep divisions within the bloc on how to approach the war, says the European Union is “losing all credibility” as a “fair, equitable and humanist broker”.
Signed by 842 officials, the letter accuses the European Commission of giving a "free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime" in Gaza, where more than 4,000 people have been killed in less than two weeks.
Von der Leyen, who has cultivated a profile as the "face" of the European Union, flew to Israel on 14 October to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Europe backed Israel's right to defend itself.
Her message was delivered without the caution being voiced by other Western leaders – and by the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell – that Israeli action must abide by international humanitarian law.
Friday's letter was reportedly sent to EU delegations around the world, including von der Leyen’s European Commission office.
'Disproportionate reaction'
It begins by condemning Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel before continuing: “We equally strongly condemn the disproportionate reaction by the Israeli government against 2.3 million Palestinian civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip”.
The three-page document warns the position taken by the commission is damaging its international relations as well as risking the safety of EU staff. Around 32,000 people are on the payroll of EU institutions.
“We hardly recognise the values of the EU in the seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our Institution toward the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We are saddened by the patent show of double-standards which considers the blockade (water and fuel) operated by Russia on the Ukrainian people as an act of terror whilst the identical act by Israel against the Gazan people is completely ignored.”
The EU staff urge the EU to call for a ceasefire and for the protection of civilian life.
“If Israel does not stop immediately, the whole Gaza Strip and its inhabitants will be erased from the planet,” it said.
