[Opinion] Can Mogherini Repair EU-Israel Relations?
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[EXCERPTS]
Indeed, the EU’s role in the Palestinian campaign to “bring Israel to the dock” at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is another destructive policy… [T]his line of attack was explicitly adopted during the negotiations of the Rome Statute that led to the establishment of the ICC, and has been moving steadily since then.
…[T]his lawfare has been joined by a powerful army of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), largely funded by Europe. While the NGO allocation processes in the European Union under frameworks such as the EU Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) remain top-secret and exempted from Freedom of Information laws (another sore point in relations with Israel), the annual total for anti-Israel campaigning related to lawfare and demonization of Israel is estimated at approximately 100 million Euros.
The Europe-funded NGOs leading this strategy include Palestinian groups such as Al Haq and the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Israeli groups, such as B’tselem, Yesh Din, Adalah, and many more, as well as radical NGOs based in Western Europe. These NGOs have bombarded the ICC prosecutor, the media, diplomats and policy makers with press releases, glossy “reports”, and legal memoranda repeating allegations of Israeli war crimes and violations of international law.
The move to activate the ICC weapon against Israel is closely tied to the upcoming UN Human Rights Council “investigation” of the July 2014 Gaza war, in which 4560 rockets and missiles were fired from Gaza – every one a Palestinian war crime.
Beyond the ICC, political warfare targeting Israel, funding of hostile NGOs, and the simplistic support of the Palestinian narrative, there are other issues that promote conflict between the EU and Israel. It will take a major effort and many years to reverse course and restore cooperation, but Ms. Mogherini has the opportunity to initiate long-overdue change to these failed and often destructive policies.