Hugh Lovatt

Trump’s Gaza plan: How Europe can help make it happen European states should offer support for the broad principles of the plan conditioned on a clear Israeli commitment to a full withdrawal from Gaza.

European states should offer support for the broad principles of the plan conditioned on a clear Israeli commitment to a full withdrawal from Gaza, write @hlovatt.bsky.social @jbdacey.bsky.social @ecfrmena.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/42YPEqn

Qatar quake: Israel blows another hole in Middle East security The Doha strike risks deepening regional scepticism of Western security partnerships in the Middle East. Europe needs to do much more to pressure Israel into ending the war in Gaza and curbing its reg...

European governments need to recognise the destabilising effects of ever-escalating Israeli actions on European interests. Europe must do much more, write @jbdacey.bsky.social @hlovatt.bsky.social and Ellie Geranmayeh @ecfrmena.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/3IhltUe

Netanyahu: Boycotts will force Israeli economy to become self-reliant PM’s declaration comes as European nations harden their attitude to country over its war in Gaza

📰 “A far more significant shift is happening among long-standing supporters of Israel, predominantly on the political Right, who are also becoming increasingly critical." comments @hlovatt.bsky.social for @telegraphnews.bsky.social. For more 👇 buff.ly/vAddSsv

Byron Rogers, brilliant Telegraph journalist and author who was Prince Charles’s first speechwriter A connoisseur of the offbeat, he interviewed the last human cannonball and wrote a superb biography of the eccentric poet RS Thomas

Wonderful @telegraphnews.bsky.social obituary of my (soon to be) father-in-law Byron Rogers, Welsh writer & journalist.
"His interviewees included Helen Mirren – whose convivial boyfriend, Liam Neeson, got him so drunk that he fell off his bicycle on the way home"
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...

Decommission, not disarm: How Europe can help nudge Gaza toward peace As Israel and Hamas edge toward a ceasefire, shifts are under way in both: Hamas is quietly opening up to decommissioning and Israel’s security elite is realising military victory is a myth.

New for @ecfr.eu by @muhammadshehada.bsky.social:
Hamas is battered but unbroken. The group is now quietly opening up to decommissioning. European leaders, long sidelined in the diplomatic arena, now have a real chance to help chart a new course away from perpetual war. ecfr.eu/article/deco...

It is vital that EU pressure is maintained on Israel to uphold and expand its humanitarian commitments, while pressing it to agree to a permanent ceasefire deal and end its all IHL/IHRL violations in Gaza and the West Bank. --> This requires the EU to move forward with sanctions.

Getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, preferably in a ceasefire context, is a priority. But this should not mean total absolution for doing only the bare minimum even as Israel continues to kill civilians, destroy Gaza, & expand WB settlements (incl E1) in violation of EU redlines.

Undoubtedly strong supporters of Israel such as Germany, Italy etc will point to Israel's reported acceptance of increased aid deliveries to Gaza as vindication of their preference for engagement -- BUT -- this has been show to work only if backed-up with the threat of sanctions.

A few thoughts ahead of tomorrow's EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to discuss possible restrictive measures against Israel, including suspension of preferential trade tariffs and Horizon Europe, arms embargo and a settlement trade ban...
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34. Right to life (ICCPR Art. 6)
35. Right to prompt judicial review (ICCPR Art. 9(3)–(4))
36. Right to self-determination (ICCPR and ICESCR Art. 1)
37. Right to work (ICESCR Art. 6)
38. Duty to investigate alleged acts of torture / right to complain (CAT Art. 12 and 13)

30. Right to health and contact with the outside world (ICCPR Art. 10)
31. Right to highest standards of health (ICESCR Art. 12)
32. Right to liberty and security of person (ICCPR Art. 9)
33. Right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose one’s residence (ICCPR Art. 12)

25. Right to an effective remedy (ICCPR Art. 2(3))
26. Right to be treated with humanity and dignity (ICCPR Art. 10(1), CAT, CRPD)
27. Right to education (ICESCR Art. 13, CRC. Art. 28)
28. Right to fair trial (ICCPR Art. 14)
29. Right to freedom of expression (UDHR Art 19, ICCPR)

22. Right of persons with disabilities to protection and safety in situations of risk (CRPD Art. 11)
23. Right to adequate standard of living, incl. housing (UDHR Art. 25, ICESCR Art. 11) and prohibition of forced evictions
24. Right to adequate standard of living (ICESCR Art 11)

19. Protection and safety of persons with disabilities (CRPD, Art. 11)
20. Protection of minors in detention (CRC Art. 37; ICCPR Art. 10(2)(b))
21. Right of children affected by an armed conflict to protection and care (CRC Art. 38)

16. Prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid (CERD Art. 3)
17. Prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (ICCPR Art. 7, CAT)
18. Prohibition of violence, cruel treatment and torture (GC Common Art. 3)

12. Principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack
13. Prohibition of attacks targeting civilians (customary IHL)
14. Prohibition of discrimination (ICCPR Art. 2 and 26, ICESCR Art. 2(2) and CERD Art. 2)
15. Prohibition of mass forcible transfers (GC IV)

9. Obligation to provide / facilitate the entry and distribution of aid
10. Obligation to take measures to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety
11. Obligation to treat civilians humanely

5. GC IV (on civilian internees): humane treatment, medical attention, relations with the exterior, transfer, death.
6. IHL principles of distinction, precautions and proportionality
7. IHL protection of medical infrastructures
8. IHL rules on occupation (transfer of population)

1. Duty to investigate and prosecute grave breaches of IHL (GC I, II, III and IV)
2. Freedom from arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s privacy, family, home (ICCPR Art. 17)
3. GC Common Art. 3 (humane treatment, prohibition of violence)
4. GC III (on prisoners of war)

Here are the 30+ Israeli international law violations in Gaza and the West Bank, identified in the EU's review.

The EU review has concluded Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

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🧵In new @ecfr.eu piece @jbdacey.bsky.social, Ellie Geranmayeh & @hlovatt.bsky.social argue that Israel's destabilising regional role threatens Euro interests, including by trying to draw the West into an unnecessary & dangerous war with Iran focused on regime change as much as nuclear issues

Maxime Prévot annonce qu'avec 8 autres Etats membres (🇫🇮 🇮🇪 🇱🇺 🇵🇱 🇵🇹 🇸🇮 🇪🇸 🇸🇪), la 🇧🇪 a adressé une lettre à la Commission 🇪🇺 lui demandant une analyse sur les implications pour l'UE de l'avis de la CIJ sur le commerce avec les colonies israéliennes.

Spoiler alert : ce commerce est ILLÉGAL et doit CESSER.

Enough is enough: Europe needs to oppose Israel’s aggression Israel has become the Middle East’s leading destabiliser, threatening key European interests. Europe must avoid the mistakes that led to the 2003 Iraq invasion, prioritise diplomacy and urge the US…

Our latest: Enough is enough: Europe needs to oppose Israel’s aggression, with @hlovatt.bsky.social & Ellie Geranmayeh

At this pivotal moment European gov supporting Israeli strikes as “doing our dirty work” must come to their senses ecfr.eu/article/enou... @ecfr.eu

'If European leaders want to seriously address the escalating insecurity and retain any political credibility in the region, they need to enforce some form of accountability on Israel for its actions that clearly violate EU’s human rights standards and long-standing red lines.'

.@tahanimustafa.bsky.social for @ecfr.eu: As Europeans focus on Israel’s intensifying conflict with Iran, the country is continuing its expansionist project in the West Bank. After its failed engagement policy, the EU should finally act against Israeli violations. t.co/AhCJ2x8ny6

Israel has become the biggest destabiliser in the Middle East, overstepping its right to self-defence, ethnically cleansing Gaza, undermining western-orientated governments in the Levant, and fuelling war with Iran. None of this is in Germany's interest. 👇
internationalepolitik.de/de/warum-deu...

With Hannah Lettl for @internationalepolitik.de: "Saying no to a friend is never easy. However, the German government's attitude towards Israel's actions in Gaza and the region has long since ceased to reflect its own strategic interests. A change of course is needed."

Warum Deutschland die Staatsräson (neu) definieren muss Nein zu einem Freund zu sagen, ist nie einfach. Doch die Haltung der Bundesregierung gegenüber dem Vorgehen Israels in Gaza und der Region entspricht längst nicht mehr den eigenen strategischen Intere...

"Anstatt zur Stabilisierung beizutragen, schafft Israel Bedingungen für neue Gewalt und Staatszerfall in der Levante – mit sicherheitspolitischen Folgen für Deutschland."
Hannah Lettl und ich fordern einen Kurswechsel der deutschen Nahostpolitik:🔗 internationalepolitik.de/de/warum-deu...

Europeans have reverted to instinctive support for Israel, championing its right to self-defence despite U.S. intel indicating that Iran is not actively pursuing nuclear weapons. What Europe is really backing is Netanyahu’s survival quest and dreams of remaking the Middle East.🧵