Since a ceasefire was reached in Gaza, the Israeli army has locked all Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank while settlers terrorise Palestinians enjoying impunity and protection from the Israeli government.
Israeli ministers have announced that they are beginning a major operation and millions of Palestinians fear that the scenes seen in Gaza are going to be repeated.
The killing of 10 Palestinians, blocking the access to the Jenin Hospital as well as setting the West Bank into a lockdown has been met with no Western reaction, including from the European Union.
After Israel has acted without red lines in Gaza and Lebanon, now western countries are giving them a green light to continue their campaign into the West Bank.
The current situation in Palestine is not the entire responsibility of the European Union.
But the implications of its lack of action threaten to set irreversible precedents and facts that will affect its ability to promote peace and security whether in the Middle East or elsewhere.
Its credibility among Palestinians, Arabs and significant parts of the Global South could not be lower when it comes to accountability and implementation of international law.
Politically speaking, the EU and its support for a “rules-based multilateral international order” is nowhere to be seen, while the incoming Trump Administration has appointed an ambassador to the UN who affirms that Israel enjoys “biblical rights” in all the Occupied West Bank and an ambassador to Israel who claims that the Palestinian people doesn’t exist.
Will the EU allow for such principles to prevail in the next few months, including prospects of further annexation of Palestinian land?
That is why what is going on in the West Bank represents an important test to prove the European willingness, or lack of it, to promote the implementation of international humanitarian law as well as the principles of a political solution.
At this stage, European diplomacy should not simply focus on recycled talking points of supporting the “two-state solution”, but supporting concrete policies to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
While some may argue that the EU requires 'consensus' to implement policy, in reality Brussels has remained absent, virtually silent when it comes to the latest Israeli crimes in the West Bank and avoiding any sort of serious political or legal engagement.
On the contrary, the Netanyahu government enjoys of privileged relations in Brussels, from Ursula von der Leyen to Kaja Kallas and Roberta Metsola, a trio that has mainly committed to deepening relations with Israel, including a new Association Council, even in light of the genocide committed in Gaza.
The current reality in the West Bank may be the worst since decades and it is reflected on the lockdown imposed over all Palestinian cities and the increasing number of Israeli settler attacks.
The European Mission to Tel Aviv remains publicly silent about any attacks against Palestinian human rights, even those who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, while in Palestine European diplomats continue to draft reports that are far from making any change of policy in Brussels.
While Palestinian officials are required to endorse the two-state solution and asked to change the educational curriculum because of Israeli complaints, Israeli officials are not asked to publicly endorse the two-state solution
Many projects funded by the EU have been affected by such policies, and any prospects of boosting Palestinian economy have remained trapped on almost 900 movement restrictions placed in the West Bank.
This figure alone should point out the failure of any approach in Palestine that abandons politics and the need to end the Israeli occupation.
What is more alarming is the tolerance shown for the systematic and ongoing Israeli violations of international law and UN resolutions.
Effectively the EU continues to do business as usual with Israel while it destroys the prospects of any political solution.
While Palestinian officials are required to endorse the two-state solution and asked to change the educational curriculum because of Israeli complaints, Israeli officials are not asked to publicly endorse the two-state solution and implement their obligations in order to continue enjoying the benefits of being its main trade partner.
Even the Israel-EU Association Council continues to be violated by Israel on its Article 2, without any European response to that matter. In other words, denying Palestinian rights, perpetuating the occupation through an annexation, as established by the ICJ, killing thousands of Palestinians and opposing the two-state solution are not a red-line for the EU in its relations with Israel.
Bethlehem has been locked with 89 barriers, Jerusalem and Ramallah isolated from the rest of the West Bank, in Hebron a patient died because his ambulance couldn’t reach the hospital due to an Israeli checkpoint as well as the connection between Palestine and the rest of the world has been affected by the siege over Jericho.
While the Israeli government may be perfectly using the first days of the Trump Administration to satisfy its domestic audience after the Gaza ceasefire, the consequences of this operation will continue to affect the prospects of any political process.
The issue is not whether the EU will pledge money for the Gaza reconstruction or offer some sort of high-level meeting to the Palestinian Authority as a compensation for enhancing relations with Israel.
Rather the issue is whether the EU is willing to play the urgent political role needed to stop the ongoing crimes being committed for decades in Palestine, or if it will continue to contribute to the current status quo, with all its implications and precedents.
The EU silence and lack of action over the West Bank attacks, can be taken as the answer to this question.
Xavier Abu Eid is a former senior adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiations affairs department.
Xavier Abu Eid is a former senior adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiations affairs department.