Too timid and divided

A fragile truce, that wasn’t always respected, of a few hours a day. Just enough time to let in a few trucks with humanitarian aids, distribute provisions and medicine, rescue the casualties and mercifully assemble the corpses lying on the roads. Then the artillery was heard in the background, the gun-firing and the bombs in the streets of Gaza, the Hamas missiles directed towards Tel Aviv. In the Holy Land people are dying. Political justifications, military strategies, the speeches of leaders of both fronts are of no worth. The resumption of war, while peace is sacrificed to the altar of unconvincing principles, is the daily reality, characterizing this new phase of Israeli-Palestinian strife. Once again, pope Benedict XVI has reminded the entire world of the urgent need to silence weapons, that only damage “the peoples that are once again the victims of hatred”, and that “war does not resolve problems”. Finally, these past days, after a too long trial phase, the engines of international politics have started running at full speed. The United Nations called for an immediate cease-fire, voiced in the plea of its Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. However, the Security Council didn’t finalize a resolution on the matter. The quarrel on the significance of single words gained priority over the value of human lives that are being sacrificed each day in the Middle East. On its part, the European Union proved to be still too timid and divided. After a series of contradicting declarations on the part of EU leadership, a delegation (that the parties at stake have identified as a mediator) left for Egypt, the Palestinian Territories and Israel. The EU group was represented by a large number of people: Prague’s Foreign Minister Schwarzenerg, his colleagues from France and Sweden (past and next EU Council rotating Presidencies) Kouchner and Bild, the High Commissioner for foreign politics Solana, the Commissioner for external relations Ferrero-Waldner. The EU thus took a series of steps to meet the players of the tragic event, avoiding however a direct rendez-vous with Hamas dignitaries. At the same time, French President Nicolas Sarkozy – EU president-in-Office until December, and currently rotating leader of the UN Security Council – decided to act. Jointly with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Sarkozy established the preliminary conditions for a permanent truce, that not only gives respite to the populations under cross-fire, since it will most probably promote the resumption of political negotiations. However, to understand whether a long-lasting truce and diplomatic endeavors are possible it will take days, perhaps weeks. In the meantime, the unique trait of the Middle-Eastern scenario, marked by ongoing instability, has been confirmed. The maze of interests and the heavy historical burden stand out as an obstacle for the populations at stake. The UN’s hesitance, European misunderstandings, the interferences and the pressures placed by other actors (from Russia to the Arab League up to Iran) don’t proceed in the right direction. On the European front in particular, a new phase of disagreements has sparked off in the realm of foreign politics. The French Presidency began with the conflict in the Caucausus, and Sarkozy had brought the EU to a mediation that proved effective. Now, the Union is led by the Czech Republic. While the complex issue of Russian-Ukrainian gas supply and the Lisbon Treaty ratification procedures can no longer be postponed, those who are dying in the Holy Land can’t be expected to wait any longer.