It May Not Last, but for Now European Leaders Rally Behind Israel

In the immediate aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday and Sunday, the uneasy pas de deux between Jerusalem and Europe found itself on unusually even footing. It may not last — the finger wagging at Israel over the war against Hamas is likely to resume soon enough — but for now the lull is nothing short of remarkable.That it was Italy’s steely prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who convened a meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday all but assures that the fresh turmoil in the Middle East will remain at the top of the EU’s agenda this week. The noisy political jockeying that accompanies the run-up to parliamentary elections in just a few weeks will take a back seat to geopolitics as all eyes are on Jerusalem and Tehran. Whether the calls for restraint that came out of Sunday’s meeting are heeded remains to be seen. It is not every day, after all, that the Islamic Republic lobs more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel — with Israeli defenses thwarting 99 percent of them. The G7 leaders were unanimous in condemning Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel.In a statement after the talks, they accused Iran of further stepping “toward the destabilization of the region.” They added that Tehran “risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.” They also allowed as how this “must be avoided.” This is happening as the region remains on a high alert. Plus Israel’s war cabinet has been debating whether and how to retaliate against Iran.Western leaders are clearly aware that the conflict has the potential to spread. “We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation,” the G7 statement said. “In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”The group’s leaders also said they would strengthen cooperation “to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas,” and to “deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.”The statement echoed widespread fears of new escalation, with Europeans earlier on Sunday having roundly condemned the Iranian attack. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said on X the bloc’s leaders “strongly condemn” the attack by Iran on Israel, adding, “Everything must be done to prevent further regional escalation.”The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, called the Iranian attack “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security.” Mr. Borell, who is more prone to lecturing Israel than praising it, plans to convene a videoconference of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday with the objective of contributing to “de-escalation and security of the region.”EU leaders are expected to discuss the events in the Middle East at an informal summit at Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.Immediately following the G7 talks, the European Commission’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the EU would “reflect on additional sanctions against Iran in close cooperation with our partners, specifically on its drone and missile programs.” That step would also curb Tehran’s ability to keep supplying drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine. The visual impact alone of what transpired in the inky skies over the Middle East will linger for a while. The British reportedly helped Israel shoot down Iranian drones over Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, with fighter jets and refueling aircraft taking off from British sovereign bases in Cyprus. France also has proved a reliable partner of Israel in the past few days, even if President Macron can be expected to do somersaults to dissuade Israel from taking significant retaliatory action. On Sunday the French foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, said that in “taking such an unprecedented action, Iran has crossed a new threshold with regard to its destabilizing activities and is risking a potential military escalation.”Mr. Séjourné’s German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, said on X that Germany condemns “in the strongest possible terms … the attack, which could plunge an entire region into chaos.”In the meantime the Saturday night fireworks, so to speak, reverberated across not only Israel’s security echelon but also the media landscape. A seasoned Israeli journalist, Amit Segal, is getting skewered for positing that Iran’s attack was a “positive development.”The last time we heard from Mr. Segal, a commentator for Israel’s Keshet 12, was in February, when he noted that contrary to some early American expectations, the IDF’s hard-fought efforts to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip have been largely successful.After the missile barrage Mr. Segal stated on social media that “for the first time since the Islamic revolution in Tehran — a direct confrontation between them and us. Unlike many, in my eyes this is a positive development.”That is a contrarian view but one that loosely gels with the camp that says Prime Minister Netanyahu may finally have called Tehran’s bluff, in part because Israel’s air defenses were so successful. That didn’t stop Mr. Segal from being raked over the online coals, however.

It May Not Last, but for Now European Leaders Rally Behind Israel

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