At a time when Gaza lies in rubble and grief, Europe’s conscience is being tested—and many fear it is failing. In a rare moment of candour, former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell publicly acknowledged what Palestinians have long known: the bombs levelling Gaza’s homes and hospitals are not just made in Israel—they are also stamped with European approval.

Speaking from Spain, Borrell described what he called the “largest ethnic cleansing since World War II,” denouncing the unrelenting destruction of Gaza and the silence surrounding it. But for many Palestinians, his words, however bold, arrive too late—spoken after tens of thousands of lives have been lost, after entire families have vanished beneath rubble, after cities have been erased.

European governments continue to arm the Israeli military, even as footage of mass graves and starving children circulates daily. While some leaders express concern, they sign off on defence contracts that fuel the very war machines devastating Gaza. This quiet complicity is not just diplomatic failure—it is moral collapse.

In Gaza, where bodies are buried without names and goodbyes come through shattered phone screens, talk of international values rings hollow. Proposals for rebuilding are debated in foreign capitals, while Palestinians dig through ruins for traces of loved ones. Behind closed doors, plans to force their displacement echo the darkest chapters of modern history, masked now as “humanitarian solutions.”

Europe, once a champion of rights and justice, now stands at a crossroads. Its response to Gaza will define more than its foreign policy—it will define its soul.