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Europe Talks Big on Gaza but Struggles to Act

Even as criticism of Israel ramps up and a growing number of countries say they’ll recognize a Palestinian state, concrete actions remain limited.

A rally in Brussels this month in support of Palestinians. European efforts to punish the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza have stalled amid opposition, notably from Germany.Credit...Marius Burgelman/Belga, via Agence France-Presse

A rally in Brussels this month in support of Palestinians. European efforts to punish the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza have stalled amid opposition, notably from Germany.Credit...Marius Burgelman/Belga, via Agence France-Presse

European nations are lining up behind a plan to recognize Palestine as a state at this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Top officials widely condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza, and some have even begun to call the war “genocide.”

But big talk has yet to lead to big action.

The European Union has proposed higher tariffs on Israeli goods, but it is not clear if that will happen. Other efforts to punish the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have stalled amid opposition, notably from Germany.

Actions by individual countries have also fallen short of the rhetoric. Attempts to funnel aid into Gaza have been limited, even as starvation grips the territory. And nations have been accepting only a trickle of asylum seekers from Gaza, with immigration often a domestic political flashpoint.

Belgium has more Palestinian asylum applicants than anywhere else in Europe, likely because of its relatively permissive immigration practices and large existing Palestinian community. But even there, applying for asylum can be difficult. Many hopefuls have been rejected this year. While Belgium has been evacuating its citizens and the family members of its own residents and refugees from Gaza, the country closed its evacuation list, which then numbered about 500 people, in April.

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Author: Jeanna Smialek Reporting from Brussels

Source: N.Y Times

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