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Here you will find links to the topic: voices on the Gaza war, including commentaries on the role of the EU and the United States in the conflict and articles in support of as well as critical of Israel.

Israeli tanks near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, January 2009. Photo: AP/Bernat Armangue

The behaviour of the EU in the Gaza conflict

In a commentary in the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, the Member of the European Parliament Pekka Haavisto called for a more active role for the EU in the Middle East. (13.01.09)
» Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish)

In the liberal Italian daily La Stampa, Enrico Bettiza wrote a lead article highly critical of the "undecided and paradoxical" attitude of the EU in the Gaza conflict. (05.01.09)
» La Stampa (in Italian)

The Romanian daily Romania Libera called for a permanent EU president in view of the many opinions and attitudes in Europe regarding the Middle East conflict. (07.01.09)
» Romania Libera (in Romanian)

The EU is losing credibility through its inner conflicts over foreign policy, wrote the retired German ambassador Hans Arnold in a commentary in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. (12.01.09)
» Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German)

Europe must act together and show a determined attitude in the Gaza conflict, wrote the historian and social commentator Timothy Garton Ash in the British daily The Guardian. (08.01.09)
» The Guardian (in English)


The role of the US and the international community

The US is the sole country able to reach a solution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, wrote the Portuguese daily Diário de Notícias. (05.01.09)
» Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese)

The attitude of the Western world in the Gaza war is hypocritical, criticised the Greek daily To Ethnos. (30.12.08)
» To Ethnos (in Greek)

The French daily Le Monde analysed the role of the new US president Barack Obama in the Middle East crisis, reviewing his previous statements on the conflict. (03.01.09)
» Le Monde (in French)

Simon Tisdall wondered in the English daily The Guardian what consequences Barack Obama's silence would have on the war. (04.01.09)
» The Guardian (in English)


Positions critical of Israel

Concern and calls for a ceasefire as a reaction to the protests of the international community at the Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip are not enough, wrote the Belgian daily De Morgen. (05.01.09)
» De Morgen (in Flemish)

"The brutal Israeli bomb attacks in the Gaza Strip will irreversibly worsen relations in the Holy Land and in the Middle East", commented Boštjan Videmšekin in the Slovenian paper Delo. (28.12.08)
» Delo (in Slovenian)

Wojciech Rogacin, deputy chief editor of the Polish daily Polska Times, commented unsympathetically on the conflict in the Middle East and Israel's course of action. (28.12.08)
» Polska Times (in Polish)

In its leading article the Luxembourg paper Le Quotidien wrote that the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip merely strengthened the position of Hamas in the region. (08.01.09)
» Le Quotidien (in French)

Philosopher Miklós Gáspár Tamás had harsh words for Israel's conduct in the left-liberal Hungarian daily Népszabadság. (14.01.09)
» Népszabadság (in Hungarian)

Pro-Israeli stances

Only if Hamas is weakened permanently will the ceasefire be more than just a pause before the next war, wrote the German daily Financial Times Deutschland, calling Israel the diplomatic and strategic victor of the conflict. (21.01.09)
» Financial Times Deutschland (in German)

French philosopher and social commentator Bernard-Henri Lévy wrote in the French magazine Le Point that there are "no good or bad dead", and called for Palestinians to be liberated from Hamas. (08.01.09)
» Le Point (in French)

For the conservative Dutch weekly Elsevier it was the logical move for Israel to attack the Gaza Strip. (29.12.08)
» Elsevier (in Dutch)

Israel's fight against the terrorism of Hamas is legitimate, but it must be pursued in such a way that it does not endanger innocent life on either side, writes the conservative Spanish daily La Razón. (16.01.09)
» La Razón (in Spanish)

The British daily The Independent wrote that peace is impossible as long as the threat from Hamas continues. (05.01.09)
» The Independent (in English)

According to historian Attila Novák in the left-leaning Hungarian daily Népszava, it is absurd to treat Israel as a scapegoat and view the Palestinians as victims. (06.01.09)
» Népszava (in Hungarian)

Assessments of the Gaza conflict

Esther Benbassa, professor of Jewish history and culture at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, explained in the French daily Le Monde why Israel and the international community should talk with Hamas. (06.01.09)
» Le Monde (in French)

French philosopher André Glucksmann also commented in Le Monde that for the first time both Palestinians and Israelis are engaging in open discussion as to whether this is the right time for war, as well as over its objectives and duration. For Glucksmann this puts them a step ahead of international debate. (06.01.09)
» Le Monde (in French)

Israel is fighting a proxy war against Iran in the Gaza Strip, wrote the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. (11.01.09)
» Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German)

Even if the Gaza war does die down, much will have become more difficult, wrote the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. (13.01.09)
» Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish)

The British daily The Independent commented that the last weeks have changed the conflict situation decisively in Israel's favour. (19.01.09)
» The Independent (in English)

After the ceasefire in Gaza, the Irish daily The Irish Times called for an "imaginative and searching diplomatic effort" as well as dialogue with Hamas. (20.01.09)
» The Irish Times (in English)

Abdelwahab Meddeb, a Tunesian-born French intellectual, wrote in the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau (09.01.09) of "the horrors" of the Gaza war.
» Frankfurter Rundschau (in French)

Further articles on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » International Relations, » Middle East, » Europe, » Global
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » International Relations, » Middle East, » Europe, » Global