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EU and Israel in War of Words as Ties Nosedive Ahead of Spain, Ireland Recognizing Palestinian State

(L-R) Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth speak during a press conference on the recognition of Palestinian statehood, at the Spanish representation office in Brussels, Belgium, 27 May 2024. (EPA)
(L-R) Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth speak during a press conference on the recognition of Palestinian statehood, at the Spanish representation office in Brussels, Belgium, 27 May 2024. (EPA)
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EU and Israel in War of Words as Ties Nosedive Ahead of Spain, Ireland Recognizing Palestinian State

(L-R) Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth speak during a press conference on the recognition of Palestinian statehood, at the Spanish representation office in Brussels, Belgium, 27 May 2024. (EPA)
(L-R) Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth speak during a press conference on the recognition of Palestinian statehood, at the Spanish representation office in Brussels, Belgium, 27 May 2024. (EPA)

Relations between the European Union and Israel took a nosedive Monday, the eve of the diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state by EU members Ireland and Spain, with Madrid insisting that sanctions should be considered against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza's city of Rafah.

In tit-for-tat comments and diplomatic actions, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Spain that its consulate in Jerusalem will not be allowed to help Palestinians.

At the same time, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threw his full weight to support the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including the leaders of the Hamas group.

"The prosecutor of the court has been strongly intimidated and accused of antisemitism — as always when anybody, anyone does something that Netanyahu’s government does not like," Borrell said. "The word antisemitic, it's too heavy. It's too important."

Angry words abounded Monday, with Katz accusing Spain of "rewarding terror" by recognizing a Palestinian state, and saying that "the days of the Inquisition are over." He referred to the infamous Spanish institution started in the 15th century to maintain Roman Catholic orthodoxy that forced Jews and Muslims to flee, convert to Catholicism or, in some instances, face death.

"No one will force us to convert our religion or threaten our existence — those who harm us, we will harm in return," said Katz.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares slammed the comments, and said his colleagues from Ireland and non-EU member Norway were "also receiving absolutely unjustified and absolutely reprehensible provocations from our Israeli colleague" because of their plans to recognize Palestine.

"In the face of those who want to divide us with any type of intimidating propaganda, the unity of Europeans is essential to send a very powerful message," he said.

Even though the EU and its member nations have been steadfast in condemning the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in which gunmen stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage, the bloc has been equally critical of Israel’s ensuing offensive that has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The latest attacks have centered on Rafah, where Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people Sunday, hit tents for displaced people and left "numerous" others trapped in flaming debris.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that such strikes will have long-standing repercussions. "Israel with this choice is spreading hatred, rooting hatred that will involve their children and grandchildren. I would have preferred another decision," he told SKY TG24.

The strikes came after the UN's top court, the International Court of Justice, on Friday demanded that Israel immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, even if it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire for the Gaza enclave.

Albares said that Spain and other countries asked Borrell "to provide a list of what measures the European Union could apply" to make Israel heed the ICJ’s ruling and explain what the EU has done in the past in similar circumstances "when there has been a flagrant violation of international law."

Spain, Ireland and Norway plan to make official their recognition of a Palestinian state on Tuesday. Their joint announcement last week triggered an angry response from Israeli authorities, which summoned the countries' ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed while being shown videos of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and abductions.

While dozens of countries have recognized a Palestinian state, none of the major Western powers has done so, and it is unclear how much of a difference the move by the three countries might make on the ground. The recognition, however, is a significant accomplishment for the Palestinians, who believe it confers international legitimacy on their struggle.

Albares criticized the treatment of the European ambassadors in Israel. "We reject something that is not within diplomatic courtesy and the customs of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," he said.

"But at the same time we have also agreed that we are not going to fall for any provocation that distances us from our goal," he added. "Our aim is to recognize the state of Palestine tomorrow, make all possible efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and also, in the end, to achieve that definitive peace."

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Now Syria’s Long-Ruling Baath Party Is Collapsing, Too

This aerial view shows a man crossing a road near defaced billboard atop a building depicting Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows a man crossing a road near defaced billboard atop a building depicting Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
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Now Syria’s Long-Ruling Baath Party Is Collapsing, Too

This aerial view shows a man crossing a road near defaced billboard atop a building depicting Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows a man crossing a road near defaced billboard atop a building depicting Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

A few days after opposition factions in Syria overthrew President Bashar Assad, his ruling Baath party announced it was freezing its activities, marking a stunning change in fortunes for the political group that had ruled for more than six decades.

Many members of the party's leadership have gone into hiding and some have fled the country. In a symbolic move, Syria's new rulers have turned the former party headquarters in Damascus into a center where former members of the army and security forces line up to register their names and hand over their weapons.

Calls are on the rise to officially dissolve the Arab Socialist Baath Party that had ruled Syria since 1963.

Many Syrians - including former party members - say its rule damaged relations with other Arab countries and aided in the spread of corruption that brought the war-torn nation to its knees.

"The party should not only be dissolved, it should go to hell," said Mohammed Hussein Ali, 64, who worked for a state oil company and was a party member for decades until he quit at the start of Syria's anti-government uprising in 2011 that turned into civil war. He never left the country and said he is happy the Baath rule is over.

Men queue with firearms up as former soldiers, police members, and civilians wait at a center for handing over weapons and security registration with the new authorities in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

An official with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the group that led the opposition offensive that overthrew Assad, said no official decision has been made on what to do with the Baath party.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, noted that HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has said that officials who committed crimes against the Syrian people over the past decades will be brought to justice and hinted that they include party members.

The Baath party, whose aim was to unify Arab states in one nation, was founded by two Syrian Arab nationalists, Michel Aflaq and Salaheddine Bitar, in 1947 and at one point ruled two Arab countries, Iraq and Syria.

A rivalry developed between the Syrian branch under Assad and his late father, Hafez, and the one in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who was ousted from power by a US-led invasion in 2003.

In Syria, the Baath party became inextricably associated with the Assad family, which took power in 1970. For decades, the family used the party and its pan-Arab ideology to control the country. Many senior military jobs were held by members of the family's minority Alawite sect, and party membership was used as a cover to give it a nationalist rather than a sectarian nature.

A former soldier and decades-long Baath party member who came to party headquarters to cut his military ties, Abdul-Rahman Ali, said he had no idea it was founded by Aflaq and Bitar. He had always thought that Hafez Assad was the founder.

"I am happy. We have been liberated from fear," said Ali, 43. "Even the walls had ears. We didn't dare express opinions with anyone." He was referring to the dreaded security and intelligence agencies that detained and tortured people who expressed criticism of Assad or government officials.

Many Syrians were required to join the Baath Vanguards, the party's youth branch, while in elementary school, where Arab nationalist and socialist ideology was emphasized.

It was difficult for people who were not party members to get government jobs or join the army or the security and intelligence services.

In 2012, a year after Syria's uprising began, a paragraph of the constitution stating that the Baath party was the leader of the nation and society was abolished, in a move aimed to appease the public's demand for political reforms. In practice, however, the party remained in control, with members holding the majority of seats in parliament and government.

Another former soldier, who gave only his first name, Ghadir, out of fear of reprisals as a member of the Alawite sect, said he came from a poor family and joined the party so he could enter the military for a stable income.

"You could not take any job if you were not a Baathist," he said.

A member of Syria's transitional government security forces sorts firearms surrendered by former soldiers, police members, and civilians at a center for handing over weapons and security registration with the new authorities in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

While few are mourning the party's fall in Syria, some are concerned that the opposition that now controls the country could carry out a purge similar to the one in Iraq after Saddam's fall.

In Syria, a Baath party statement issued three days after Assad's fall called on all members to hand their weapons and public cars to the new authorities.

On Dec. 24, party member and former army colonel Mohammed Merhi was among hundreds who lined up at the former party headquarters and handed over weapons.

Merhi said the Baath party should be given another opportunity because its principles are good but were exploited over decades. But he said he might want to join another party if Syria becomes a multiparty democracy in the future.

He handed over his Soviet Makarov pistol and received a document saying he can now move freely in the country after reconciling with the new authorities.

"I want to become again a normal Syrian citizen and work to build a new Syria," he said.