On Gaza, Europe is struggling to make its diplomacy matter

WhenEuropeans face a crisis beyond their shores, there is only one thing worse than not agreeing on what to say: not even being heard. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has cruelly reminded Europe that, for all its talk of geopolitical clout, it is not treated in the region as an indispensable interlocutor. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, was made to wait in his plane on the tarmac in Doha recently for 30 minutes until a Qatari minister turned up to welcome him. In December his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, had to scale back a would-be regional Middle East tour to just two Gulf cities. Britain and France have each sent naval vessels to the eastern Mediterranean, but this gesture has barely registered. For all such efforts and more besides, if and when Israel silences the guns in Gaza, it will not be thanks to the Europeans.In some respects this should come as no surprise. As its closest friend and supplier of arms, America is the only Western power with proper influence in Israel. In the region it is Qatar and Egypt that have a line to Hamas. Europe’s voice is not only marginal, but discordant. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7th, Europeans paraded their differences with a procession of unco-ordinated visits. Germany’s history keeps it close to Israel. Spain has angered Israel with its pro-Palestinian leanings. When in December America voted against an emergency United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Britain and Germany abstained; France voted in favour.