Palestinians are being displaced by rhetoric and action

Rejecting Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians by rhetoric does not work. However, the Palestinian Authority and world leaders seem to convolute statements into purported displays of action, when the only action being taken is by Israel in its quest for ever more colonial expansion.

At the 12th session of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, for example, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas noted that Ramallah rejected Israel’s attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians, and that the international community stood by the PA in this.

“We will continue working to establish a ceasefire, guarantee the flow of humanitarian aid, and ensure that the State of Palestine assumes responsibility in Gaza, all while preserving the territorial unity of Palestine,” said Abbas.

Meanwhile, as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar travelled to Brussels to meet with his EU counterparts, EU officials rejected forced displacement in the weakest way possible.

“We support the Palestinian Authority and its return to Gaza. We support the return of every displaced Palestinian for whom Gaza is their home,” said European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas. Bringing Israel’s violations in the occupied West Bank into the equation, Kallas added, “The ceasefire is a real chance to break the cycle of violence.”

While Spain and Ireland had called for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, yesterday’s meeting, which was supposed to take into consideration Israel’s compliance with, or lack thereof, Article 2 of the agreement, veered in a different direction.

According to Saar, his invitation letter to Brussels contained no indication of reviewing Israel’s required human rights compliance. “This approach,” he said, with reference to shifting the focus on Israel’s violations against Palestinians, “will not give the European Union a strong and influential position, quite the opposite.”

And there we have it; Israel is dictating EU foreign policy in this regard, with nothing but acquiescence from most the bloc’s leaders.

Keeping in mind that Israel and the US are forging ahead with plans to displace Palestinians permanently, while the EU focuses on the defunct two-state paradigm and Gaza’s reconstruction on its own terms – that is, without Hamas – gives the EU that common ground with Israeli aims. While policy is expected to differ throughout US President Donald Trump’s term, the fact remains that Israel, the US and the EU have taken Palestinians out of the Palestinian equation; they have been displaced by both rhetoric and actions.

Kallas’s press statement following the meeting with Saar only confirms how the EU prioritises Israel. Addressing Saar, she noted that 50 years since the EU and Israel signed the first trade agreement, the relationship between both entities has grown. Kallas moved straight to 7 October to emphasise and reference the EU’s support for Israel, rather than trade deals, making the EU visibly complicit in the genocide that ensued. Of course, Kallas diluted genocide to “a deadly conflict… with atrocious levels of loss of civilian lives.”

Upon arriving in Brussels, Saar told reporters that Israel can face criticism, “as long as criticism is not connected to delegitimisation, demonisation or double standards.”

The EU certainly delivered on Israel’s requirements, although double standards holds an alternative meaning for diplomats. Because it is only by applying double standards that Israel is able to thrive, and able to displace Palestinians under the auspices of alternative “solutions” and “security”, with varying degrees of collaboration from the US, the EU and — yes, Mahmoud Abbas — the PA too.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250225-palestinians-are-being-displaced-by-rhetoric-and-action/