TEHRAN - The European Union faces increasing criticism for its handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with many accusing it of maintaining a “business as usual” approach that enables ongoing violence and human rights violations in Gaza. 

Despite clear evidence of war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, key EU leaders continue to provide political and military support to Israel and ignore calls to hold it accountable. This has raised serious questions about Europe’s commitment to international law, human rights, and its role on the global diplomatic stage.

Tehran Times interviewed Marc Botenga, a Belgian member of the European Parliament representing the Left group (GUE/NGL). Botenga is a powerful critic of the European Union’s policy toward Israel. 

Botenga condemns the EU’s “business as usual” approach as a complicity in the Gaza genocide, highlighting the bloc’s privileged trade agreements, arms exports, and political backing for Israel’s actions in Gaza. 

He exposes the EU’s double standards in its responses to Ukraine and Palestine, calling out leaders like Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas for enabling war crimes and ignoring International Criminal Court rulings. 

Drawing from his firsthand experiences in Palestine, Botenga calls for urgent public mobilization to hold Europe accountable and demands justice.

The following is the text of the interview with Marc Botenga:

Question: You describe the EU’s current approach to Israel as “business as usual” and criticize it for complicity. What specific policy changes would break this pattern of complicity?

Answer: It's important today to acknowledge that the European Union does not have just normal relationships with Israel. It has a privileged partnership with Israel.
 
So there is the Association Agreement, which basically gives Israel a lot of privileges, advantages, to access, for example, the EU market, which makes the EU one of the main trading partners for Israel.

It also gives Israeli entities access to European public money, research, and development funds. So we are sponsoring, and this needs to stop. It's very clear that we need to cancel this agreement right now. The agreement itself speaks about human rights. It says that human rights should be respected.

Clearly, they are not being respected. So if Europe wants to stop being hypocritical, it needs to immediately cancel this agreement with Israel.

Secondly, there are still weapons going from the European Union, from Europe, to Israel. This needs to stop. We need to stop the genocide, and in order not to be complicit, arms exports to Israel need to stop immediately. These are two concrete measures, I think, that Europe should take right now.

Q: European leaders such as Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas have been criticized by you for their stance on Israel. What political or strategic factors influence their current position?

A: I think they consider that Israel plays, defends the role of Western imperialism in the region. Israel today bombs different countries in the Middle East, destroys different countries in the Middle East, and I'm afraid that some European leaders think this is in the interest of the West. I do not think this is in the interest of the people, neither in the region nor in Europe.

And definitely it's a violation of international law, of basic human rights. There's a dehumanization of Palestinians, to which today, I'm afraid, Kaja Kallas [EU chief diplomat] and Ursula von der Leyen [President of the European Commission] contribute. They also normalize war crimes.

I think this is very bad. They still have normal discussions with the Israelis. They visit and they meet Israeli leaders as if nothing was going on, and this is absolutely unacceptable. We know what the International Criminal Court said, and so we cannot be complicit or stay complicit with these crimes.

Kaja Kallas and Ursula von der Leyen normalize war crimes in Gaza.

Q: You have highlighted the “double standards” of the EU regarding Ukraine and Gaza,  particularly in terms of labeling genocide. How do you think this inconsistency affects the credibility of EU foreign policy?

A: You know that when Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union started sending weapons to Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia. But today, there is no such sanction against Israel, despite the violations of humanitarian law and human rights.

This clearly shows double standards. People will no longer believe the European Union when it talks about human rights and international law because of this inconsistency.

The consequences are clear. What we've seen is that the European Union has basically disappeared from the diplomatic stage.

Ten or fifteen years ago, in all important international negotiations, Europe had a real presence. For example, in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, European countries played an important role. On Palestine as well, European countries used to be involved. Today, they are not even part of the diplomatic discussions. It’s like they’ve exited the world stage — which is honestly quite shocking.

And this is the result of double standards. Why should anyone believe Europe when it speaks about international law and human rights if it actively contributes to genocide?

Q: You have led protests and spoken out strongly in the European Parliament. How do you see the role of politicians in Europe and in a broader context in the world in mobilizing public opinion and influencing EU foreign policy on Palestine?

A: Well, I think we need to address the hypocrisy of European leaders. We need to be very clear: when they speak, when they use rhetoric about international law, and at the same time apply double standards, they are being inconsistent. We must call that out clearly.

You can’t accept the ICC when it suits your interests and ignore it when it doesn’t. We need to expose that they are serving other interests — often the interests of Western imperialism — rather than genuinely defending human rights or international law.

But it's important to say that many people inside Europe are mobilizing. They are standing in solidarity with Palestine.

We should bring those voices into the European Parliament and expose the hypocrisy of the European Union, both inside and outside of Parliament.

We need to raise awareness. We need to tell people: look, these leaders are not taking the lead on justice. We must increase public pressure to push for a real change in policy.

Q: You called Belgium's Prime Minister's claim that arresting Netanyahu would be unrealistic an absolute scandal. What legal applications do you think European countries, including Belgium, have regarding war criminals like Netanyahu?

A: Well, it's very clear: Belgium has signed the Rome Statute. Belgium is part of — and supports — the International Criminal Court (ICC).

So, we have a legal obligation to arrest anyone for whom the ICC issues an arrest warrant.

When the ICC issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, European leaders were unanimous — they said they would arrest him.

With maybe one exception, every European country made it very clear they supported the warrant and would act on it. But now, when the ICC issues a warrant for Netanyahu, suddenly they’re looking for excuses. That’s not acceptable.

It must be made clear: an ICC arrest warrant must be executed by European countries.

You can’t apply double standards. You can’t accept the ICC when it suits your interests and ignore it when it doesn’t. That’s not how international law works. If you believe in the rule of law, you must be consistent.

Q: Considering Washington’s unwavering support for Israel, how do you see the role of the EU in balancing the equation with the need to uphold international law and human rights?

A: The European Union is not balancing this equation today. It speaks about international law and human rights, but it's not acting in accordance with its own words. That much is very clear.

Human rights and international law are not guiding EU foreign policy today. They haven't in Africa, where the EU has been complicit in some of the worst crimes. And they're not doing so now in Palestine, where the EU remains complicit in what many are calling genocide.

This demonstrates that the European Union shouldn’t be in charge of upholding international law, but it certainly must respect it. And we have every reason to respect international law, because the world is changing. We're seeing the rise of many powerful nations. International law is how we engage with each other respectfully.

That’s the kind of world order we need: one based on respect, equality, and win-win trade relations — where countries talk to one another, listen, and treat each other as equals. But unfortunately, this is not the EU’s actual policy today.

Q: What purpose does Israel seek in its indiscriminate bombings in Gaza, including targeting UN workers and journalists?

A: They want to expel the Palestinian people — to chase them away, occupy their land, and eventually annex it. This is what Israel has been doing for decades now: illegally occupying Palestinian land. Some people like to say this is a "difficult" or "complicated" conflict. But it’s not.

It’s actually very simple: You have one state — the State of Israel — that is illegally occupying more and more Palestinian land.

This isn’t just an opinion. The United Nations has condemned it. The International Court of Justice has condemned it. It’s crystal clear.

What we need is a return to international law, and Israel must respect that law. But instead, they are doing the opposite. They are carrying out ethnic cleansing.

They are committing genocide — not just in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. They are even illegally occupying parts of Syria, and affecting Lebanon too. And this has to stop.

Q: You have witnessed the Israeli military actions in Palestinian cities firsthand. How have these experiences shaped your political activism and advocacy in the European Parliament?

A: When you go to Palestine — and I’ve been there several times — you see with your own eyes what’s really happening.

You see the role the Israeli army plays. You see how settlers intimidate and attack Palestinians.

You witness the arrogance and violence — how illegal settlers are chasing Palestinians away, destroying villages, attacking homes, and even attacking Palestinian children.

When you see that up close, when it’s not just something you read about in reports, you cannot stay silent. You cannot accept that the European Union continues to support this. You just can’t.

Q: What challenges do you face within the European Parliament when pushing for stronger action on Gaza?

A: It's a matter of balance of power. So, you need to influence power relations. And, you know, we speak out, but we need to mobilize the population. 

Let me give you an example. In early May, tens of thousands of Belgians marched in the streets. Two days later, the government had to respond. They haven’t changed their policy yet, but they were forced to make a public statement.

That’s pressure. Our challenge at the European level is to amplify this popular pressure, to make sure European leaders end their complicity in genocide and change their policies.

Q: Before we conclude, is there any final message you would like to share with us?

A: I think we need to, you know, all mobilize in support of humanity, in this case, and just say, you know, there is no place in our modern world for genocide. There's no place for ethnic cleansing in our world. And I think many people have seen the double standards of Europe. We have seen that the European Union has always spoken officially about how morally superior they are.

Today, they show the real face of imperialism, which is absolutely violent and horrifying.

But I'm optimistic because I see the solidarity with Palestinians from the United States to Europe to the rest of the world. And this is really encouraging, I think.