The War on Lebanon Puts Pressure on Israel’s Relations with the EU

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “is today launching his most severe attack on Lebanon since the beginning of the offensive. His contempt for human life and international law is unacceptable,” wrote Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on X on April 8, after it was announced that the United States and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire.

Sánchez is calling for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire, for the international community to condemn “this new violation of international law,” and for the EU to suspend the association agreement that grants Israel preferential access to the EU’s internal market.

Spain has positioned itself as one of the EU’s most outspoken critics of the US and Israeli war in the Middle East and has closed its airspace to all aircraft involved in the war.

Nevertheless, Israel is intensifying its war on Lebanon and has now killed more than 250 people in less than a day. This comes immediately after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire based on Iran’s ten-point plan, which explicitly states that the ceasefire also applies to Lebanon.

## Strait of Hormuz

The Spanish prime minister is not alone in his concerns. EU Vice President Kaja Kallas, who had previously expressed “full support” for Israel, wrote today on X:

“The Israeli attacks killed hundreds of people last night, making it difficult to claim that such heavy-handed actions fall under self-defense. Israel’s actions are putting the ceasefire between the United States and Iran under severe pressure. The ceasefire with Iran should be extended to include Lebanon.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also criticizes Israel for violating the ceasefire by attacking Lebanon. She states that restoring free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is of crucial importance to her country and to the entire EU.

Iran’s response to the attacks by the United States and Israel—by preventing ships from hostile countries from passing through the strait—has caused “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). As a result of the crisis, prices for fuel and fertilizers, among other things, have risen sharply.

With the ceasefire, many Western leaders had hoped that Iran would once again allow their ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas normally transit. However, the Iranian navy continues to warn ships in the Persian Gulf that they will be attacked if they attempt to pass through the strait.

This comes after Iran accused the United States and Israel of violating the ceasefire through the continued war on Lebanon. Donald Trump, however, says that Lebanon was never part of the agreement reached between the United States and Iran. Earlier, Trump had made it clear that the ceasefire was based on Iran’s ten-point plan.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the parties to respect the ceasefire. He emphasized that including Lebanon in the ceasefire is a prerequisite for it to be “credible and lasting.”

The same message is coming from Israel’s trading partners outside the EU, as Australia is also demanding that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire. Australia has furthermore joined Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom in an official statement expressing deep concern “over the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the refugee crisis in Lebanon.”
https://arbejderen.dk/udland/krigen-mod-libanon-presser-israels-forhold-til-eu/

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