What Triggered the Recent EU/Commonwealth Statements Regarding Palestine?
The scramble to escape culpability for genocide
We have recently seen a shift in rhetoric coming from leaders of EU and Commonwealth countries regarding official state recognition Palestine. While these words may be better than nothing, it is unlikely that these recent declarations are motivated by benevolence or a dedication to human rights. Appalling human rights abuses have been reported consistently since the genocide began, which has long been ignored by Western Europe and the Commonwealth as they continued to supply Israel with weapons and propaganda support. Now, many EU and Commonwealth countries are en masse adapting their stances. What is motivating them to do so now?
Each of these countries facing not only increased international pressure but also increased tensions domestically. I’ll be unable to cover everything in one essay, but here are some internal dynamics that may be contributing to the change. It should be noted that a shift in rhetoric means nothing without concrete action. As you’ll see below, despite their words, many of the below countries continue to protect Israel, indicating that their words are merely a smoke screen to calm their angered populaces, avoid legal culpability, and keep potential trading partners happy.
FRANCE
France was the first G7 country to announce that they will recognize Palestine as a state in September. French President Emmanuel Macron faces a unique political climate regarding the genocide in Palestine, as France’s demographics include the largest Muslim community in the EU as well as the biggest Jewish population outside of Israel and the United States.
France is also facing some of the craziest domestic landscapes due to multiple PR and legal disasters regarding Macron and speculation about his wife, Brigitte. Allegations by independent reporters and podcasters like Xavier Poussard, Delphine Jégousse, Natacha Rey and Candace Owens regarding Brigitte’s gender became so viral and sensational that the Macrons have filed legal cases against the latter three. Curiosity regarding these claims were heightened by another clip released where Brigitte was seen slapping Macron. Regardless of the veracity of the above journalists’ claims, the allegations have also brought increased attention to pair’s relationship. Brigitte was Macron’s teacher when he was 15 years old, and she is 24 years older than him. Then, in May, a clip featuring Macron and other Western leaders on a train departing Ukraine began to circulate online; he and others were alleged to have hidden objects that were speculated to be cocaine. Western leaders and “fact-checkers” have claimed both Slapgate and Cokegate to be Russian disinformation, but to deny is not the same thing as to debunk, which is why it did not stop the memes or slow down the increased scrutiny into the Macrons.
Macron may also be facing another legal case in the future as over 100 lawyers have also now submitted requests to the ICC to investigate him and other French ministers for genocide complicity. They have cited how the French government has supported Israel throughout the genocide by providing “military, political, economic, diplomatic, and propaganda support to the state, including by providing the means to commit the crimes in question.” They accuse the French government of justifying Israel’s genocidal actions within political statements and propaganda, refusing to respect the 2013 Arms Treaty, and delivering military equipment to Israel, amongst other accusations. MPs have also accepted fully funded trips to Israel from France’s AIPAC equivalent ELNET, and France has also allowed Netanyahu to fly through its airspace multiple times despite the ICC arrest warrant.
UNITED KINGDOM
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced that the UK will recognize Palestine “unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.” Like Macron, Starmer is also struggling deeply with domestic tensions and is quite unpopular with the Brits. His favourability ratings are quite poor, with just 23% of Britons reporting a positive opinion of him. Like many Western countries, Starmer is also facing increased pressure regarding public dissatisfaction with domestic services. National Health Service wait times for emergency services are for example hours long, and 70% of Britons now say immigration is too high and are affecting locals’ access to services like health and housing.
Starmer’s words regarding Palestine can be easily scrutinized based on oppressive actions against pro-Palestinian protesters currently taking place in the UK. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a ban on Palestine Action, labelling them as a terrorist organisation, and since the Terrorism Act of 2000 was introduced, officials have arrested more than 170 people. Due to accusations of this being an authoritarian abuse of power, the High Court has however granted permission for a full Judicial review of the ban.
Despite Starmer’s seemingly benevolent declaration about Palestine, this is again likely to be performative based on all the concrete support the UK continues to give to Israel. This includes but is not limited to disseminating Zionist propaganda, collecting intelligence for Israel via the British royal air force, issuing alleged threats to the ICC to not prosecute Israel, supplying weapons, training military personnel, and allowing Israel to use Royal Air Force bases, amongst other actions.
The Labour government is also facing increased scrutiny due to their recent dystopian “Online Safety Act,” which purports to be about protecting children. Protections for children however are super broadly applied and can even compromise children’s safety in itself, leading to cynicism regarding the Labour party’s motives and intentions behind the bill. The Online Safety Act claims to combat “misinformation,” however, it adds another control mechanism for the flow of information, limiting freedom of expression that is likely motivated by the government’s desire to limit narratives contrary to their own. The act will also add increased surveillance to Brits’ online activity and increase potential security risks for their personal information and data.
AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not yet issued a statement about recognizing Palestine, however he has been escalating criticism on Israel and has acknowledged the illegality of Israel’s actions in blocking humanitarian aid and murdering Palestinians seeking it. Like Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (see below) however, he has also put ludicrous “conditions” on Palestine regarding Hamas and demilitarisation of Palestine, all while Israel continues to massacre their civilians.
Australia, like many of the Western countries on this list, is also struggling with domestic tensions. Public frustration has centered on high immigration levels during a cost-of-living and housing crisis, with 43% of Australians in January 2025 now viewing immigration negatively. Albanese has also endorsed a campaign to raise the minimum age for accessing social media, citing child safety and mental health concerns. Given what is happening in the UK and Canada’s exploration of the Online Harms Bill, it is plausible that this is another censorship attempt. If Australia was concerned about the safety of their children for instance, they would be better suited to devoting more attention to preventing events like the recent childcare abuse scandals. It seems convenient that censoring the internet would be the Australian government’s priority in the name of child protection.
The Australian Labour government is also facing scrutiny over their Zionist support. The EOS weapons company for example directly supplies arms to Israel while RUAG Australia is the sole global supplier of the uplock actuator system for Israel’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Aussie officials like Penny Wong have attempted to argue RUAG only supplies “non-lethal parts” of these weapons to Israel, however, RUAG provides bomb bay door actuators for the jets, which allows Israel to drop bombs on innocents. Per this article “all [these] components are manufactured entirely in house at the RUAG Australia site in Bayswater.”
CANADA
I don’t even want to write about these a-holes, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has also recently issued a statement announcing an intention to recognize in Palestine in September. He has finally condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, but in the usual wishy-washy way, using the usual half-assed rhetoric: condemning “the Israeli government’s failure to prevent the humanitarian disaster.” Carney has also added caveats to his statement, as if the human right to self-determination is conditional.
Regarding Canada’s domestic situation, it is what the kids would call cooked. In addition to concerns about health care, housing, immigration, cost of living, and the fentanyl crisis, Canada is also currently experiencing a silent generational war of which many Canadians may not even be aware. Many youths are feeling a sense of anger and betrayal towards older generations as they see them as voting in the same party that has crippled Canada’s economy for the past ten years. Those who voted for Carney are also beginning to become concerned as despite the “Elbows Up” campaign, Carney has been unable to fend off Trump’s tariffs and is also currently being threatened by Trump for his comments on Palestine. Alberta is exploring separation, and there are divisions amongst Canadians regarding Trump’s 51st state comments and who gets to decide the meaning of the Canadian flag.
To add further fuel to the fire, Arms Embargo Now has also recently released a report proving that Liberal governments under both Trudeau and Carney are responsible for deceiving Canadians about arms exports to Israel. Numerous Canadian government statements have indicated that they were restricting and prohibiting transfers, however, these weapons continue to flow to Israel. Shipments dispatched from 7 Canadian cities were sent to the Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems. Global Affairs Canada and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are responsible for export permits, and while Canada claims to have paused these, they allowed shipments to proceed under previously approved permits. After this report was released, even the state-funded CBC was forced to acknowledge it, though they cannot have been completely unaware. Independent media outlets like the Maple have been reporting on the complicity of Canadian weapons companies like Quebec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc for some time.
The Carney government also mentioned on May 19th that they would take “concrete action” regarding Palestine if Israel’s actions did not change. We are still waiting to see a single helpful action as children starve.
GERMANY
Like the rest of the countries on this list, Germany has also issued statements recently about moving towards recognizing a Palestinian state. And like many on this list, Germany is also struggling domestically, experiencing slow economic growth and housing shortages amongst other concerns. Violent attacks in the city have fuelled arguments about immigration (though it should be noted that some violent events here being blamed on immigrants may have been false flags by Mossad collaborators), and Germany has also cracked down fairly hard on pro-Palestine supporters, with Berlin banning demonstrations and Palestinian symbols like the keffiyeh.
Germany has been one of Israel’s most devoted supporters throughout the genocide. In April, Germany ordered the deportation of pro-Palestine activists based on alleged protest activities, though none of them could be charged with crimes. Since the genocide began, Germany has blocked EU member states from Israel accountable for war crimes, consistently defended Israel’s crimes, supported the state’s propaganda operations, and provided weapons for the genocide.
It has been depressing to watch all of our Western countries demonstrate their disinterest in peace and human rights, but for obvious reasons, it has been particularly disturbing to watch Germany participate.
WHY NOW?
Given all of these domestic issues and increased international pressure regarding the horrific starvation in Gaza, these new statements moving towards recognizing Palestine seem to have been prompted by the EU and Commonwealth’s weakening public images and increased isolation on the world stage. Public outrage has increased due to more images coming out of Gaza of the emaciated bodies of children, and tragic stories like that of Amir—a young Palestinian boy who thanked aid workers respectfully for paltry food supplies before being gunned down afterwards—are reaching more mainstream outlets. This perhaps has required leaders to engage in performative action to keep legal accountability at bay. While it is better than not recognizing Palestine at all, it’s still a show—they are putting on a face of humanitarian concern while lying to their populaces about their concrete support of a genocidal state.
America’s tariffs and Trump’s combatative attitude with former allies has also put the EU and Commonwealth into difficult economic positions, forcing them to consider other trading partners. They may also shifting positions to appease the emerging multipolar world and Global South. All of their statements thus appear to be made out of necessity: to protect their global economic positions, soothe their angry populaces, and escape legal culpability for supporting Israel as they continue to violate the Geneva Convention and Rome Statute together.
I wonder how many see through this performative BS, Eleanor. How long can people be fooled as those in Palestine are starved, shot and humiliated?