Beyond sanctions: five strategic tools the EU must use to end the war in Gaza and rebuild for peace

I am Israeli. I lost friends on 7 October – some were murdered, others displaced from their homes and communities. Some turned away from me because of my identity or my beliefs. I carry that pain every day. But I also carry shame. What is happening in Gaza – mass killing, starvation, the destruction of entire civilian life – is not in my name. It cannot be justified. Before anything, this should be stated clearly.

Let’s be clear: the majority of the Israeli public opposes this government. And I truly believe that most people – on both sides between the river and the sea – simply want to live in peace, with safety and dignity. That’s why it’s crucial to constantly distinguish between the population and their extreme political leadership. Israelis from their government, just as we must differentiate between Palestinians and Hamas. Collective punishment does nothing but deepen this cycle of never-ending violence and suffering.

This is no longer simply a war against Hamas. It is a war perpetuated by a government that no longer represents the will of most Israelis. And with every passing day, it erodes our moral foundations and buries the possibility of a shared, dignified future with our neighbours.

It must end – not only for Gaza, not only for Israel, but for everyone who calls the land between the river and the sea home. And for all who care deeply for this place.

Now is the time for a different kind of courage – not the courage of arms, but the courage to recognise our interdependence. To understand that one’s safety depends on the safety of the other, that one’s life is bound to the other’s. The courage to choose a safer future over the painful and violent past.

How did we get here? How did our deepest traumas become tools of division, our longing for home turned into justification for violence? And most importantly, how did the support for Palestinians make many Jewish communities more nationalistic?

I know this from personal experience – it lives in my family’s story. My father was expelled from Libya in the name of those who claimed to fight for Palestine. Decades later, my parents left Italy in 1982 after a synagogue shooting – once again committed in the name of the liberation of Palestine. They came to Israel seeking safety, community and hope. The stands against Israel didn’t make them more critical but somehow made them more nationalistic.

Is it only propaganda or is there a true and alarming process here where people continue to take sides, while the humanity between the lines is crushed? Within this, it seems like the more extremist streams of the pro-Palestinian movement, especially those attacking communities or boycotting individuals just for their identity are in some way the best partner the Israeli right-wing could have asked for.

We need a new framework. And unfortunately, we can’t deal with this alone. Many are doing what they can to apply pressure from within. But we also need our friends abroad, especially in Europe, to apply healthy constructive pressure from the outside that supports an end to this terrible reality and helps us build a new chapter of reconciliation and reconstruction.

Europe’s reckoning 

For too long, EU responses have been limited to ‘deep concern’ and diplomatic hedging. Meanwhile, entire neighbourhoods in Gaza and the West Bank are being erased, and the voices of peace – on both sides – are drowned out by extremism, militarism, polarisation and despair.

But the EU is not powerless. It has tools. It has leverage. It bears historic responsibilities, and it has a moral compass. What it lacks is the political courage to act – and a vision that matches the scale of the moment.

This crisis is not just a humanitarian disaster; it is a geopolitical turning point. And if Europe wants to avoid complicity in an endless war, it must go beyond condemnation and sanctions. It must help shape the framework for the day after – one built on the following crucial fronts.

1. Protect, Monitor, Prepare: a strategic EU role in Gaza’s civilian future

Europe must move from reaction to strategy. While the recent appointment of Christophe Bigot as the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process is a welcome step, his role remains primarily diplomatic. What is still missing is a dedicated EU Special Envoy for Gaza – tasked specifically with monitoring and publicly reporting on the realities on the ground. This role would focus on documenting civilian harm, ensuring humanitarian access, and tracking violations of international law in real time. It would complement diplomatic efforts by grounding them in verified facts and giving voice to those most affected.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, plays a critical role in investigating and reporting on human rights conditions, but she operates with limited institutional backing and without coordination powers. A European counterpart, properly equipped and mandated, could help bridge that gap—linking facts on the ground to EU foreign policy, coordinating with international actors, and laying the groundwork for future accountability and reconstruction. Titles alone are not enough; such a role must come with real authority, resources, and a commitment to transparency and justice.

The dire situation around aid and its distribution demands such involvement. A key instrument of this effort should be the deployment of a civilian monitoring mission, modelled on successful EU operations in other conflict zones. Its purpose would be to document and report violations against civilians, medical infrastructure and humanitarian workers – sending a clear signal that international law is not optional, and that impunity will not go unnoticed. In parallel, this mission should help ensure the safe and effective distribution of aid, laying the ground for reconstruction.

But monitoring and civilian protection must be more than symbolic and should not end in case of a ceasefire. It must help create the conditions for safe return, justice and long-term recovery. The Dayton Agreement, which helped end the war in Bosnia, established the right of all displaced people to return to their homes – a right made real through sustained international presence and oversight. That same principle must be applied in Gaza.

From Bosnia, we learn the importance of establishing a structured international mechanism to guarantee the return of displaced persons, supported by close oversight, legal guarantees and economic assistance – while recognising that such a process requires a complete cessation of hostilities and broad international backing.

By combining political leadership with ground-level monitoring, the EU can play a decisive role – not only in responding to violence, but in shaping what follows. This is how we move from war to transition, from displacement to return and from despair to the first steps of accountability and peace.

2. Accountability with distinction: isolate the guilty, empower the just

In recent days, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom have taken a bold and unprecedented step by imposing targeted sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, citing their incitement of violence and obstruction of humanitarian aid. These measures signal a clear shift: those in positions of power who promote extremism and violate international law will face direct consequences. The European Union must now demonstrate the same resolve.

The EU should immediately adopt coordinated Magnitsky-style sanctions against political figures and entities responsible for war crimes, incitement, or deliberate obstruction of aid. This is not only a matter of legal responsibility – it is a matter of credibility. If the EU is serious about its commitment to a rules-based international order, it must show that impunity is no longer an option.

Sanctions must also be paired with support for those working to prevent further collapse: human rights defenders, legal monitors and peacebuilders – Palestinian and Israeli alike – who continue to resist violence and lay the groundwork for accountability and coexistence. The EU can bolster their work by increasing funding, diplomatic protection and integration into formal policy consultations. These are the voices that will sustain hope and rebuild legitimacy long after the bombs stop falling.

Ultimately, the EU must act with both precision and principle. This is not about punishing populations – it is about isolating those responsible while protecting those working for peace. Palestinians are not Hamas. Israelis and Jewish communities around the world are not the Israeli government. The EU must draw this line clearly and hold firm to it.

3. Create a transitional governance and reconstruction fund for Gaza

The European Union must not wait for perfect political conditions to begin supporting the future of Gaza. It should immediately launch a dedicated recovery and resilience fund focused on trusted local actors – including medical professionals, engineers, women-led cooperatives and municipal leaders. This fund must be flexible, transparent and accountable to local communities, rather than dependent on the fractured and often dysfunctional political structures that have failed them.

By embedding this fund within the broader reconstruction and state-building framework proposed by the Egyptian government and the Palestinian Authority, the EU can help channel aid toward genuine, bottom-up capacity building. As in Kosovo in the early 2000s, the EU has the opportunity to help establish the foundations of legitimate, locally grounded governance – where international support is used to reinforce, not replace, local leadership.

The Kosovo experience also offers a crucial caution: temporary international administration can play a role as a transitional bridge – but must not become a permanent substitute for national sovereignty. Prolonging such arrangements risks weakening the legitimacy of emerging Palestinian institutions and fostering long-term dependency. The EU must design its support with a clear exit strategy and local ownership from the outset.

In addition to funding, the EU has proven tools for physical and operational stabilization. Its past oversight of the Rafah border crossing and experience managing crossings in post-war Kosovo show that the EU can help facilitate civilian movement, trade and coordination – critical elements for stabilising daily life and enabling recovery.

Now is the time to apply these lessons. Supporting local resilience today means investing in the leadership that will rebuild Gaza tomorrow. This effort must be paired with strategic investments in the broader Palestinian economy, in both Gaza and the West Bank, to lay the economic foundation for long-term independence, resilience and self-determination.

4. Offer conditional recognition of a transitional Palestinian government

Recognition is not a reward – it is a lever for change. The European Union should proactively recognise the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders and support any transitional Palestinian unity government that commits to democratic reform, rule of law and national reconciliation. Such recognition would strengthen moderate leadership, marginalise extremism, and lay the groundwork for rebuilding Palestinian governance from within.

This opportunity is not theoretical. In recent weeks, President Mahmoud Abbas publicly committed to a comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority, including restructuring its institutions and preparing for renewed democratic legitimacy. This declaration offers a practical and timely framework for launching a serious state-building process. Recognition by the EU, conditioned on the implementation of these reforms, could provide the political and financial support needed to move from intent to institution-building.

Crucially, recognition of the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders would transform the current framework – from a vague promise of a negotiated two-state solution into a clear, enforceable two-state reality. Under international law, particularly UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338, these borders represent the internationally recognised foundation for peace. Recognition would affirm that territory beyond the 1967 lines is occupied – not disputed – and must be addressed accordingly.

This legal and diplomatic act would echo the precedent of Kosovo, where international recognition catalysed sovereignty despite Serbia’s opposition. In the same way, Palestinian statehood is not Israel’s to grant or withhold. Under the declaratory theory of international law, statehood is based on meeting objective criteria – not the consent of an occupying power. Recognition would also reinforce third-party obligations not to recognise illegal settlements or annexation efforts.

By recognising Palestine now, the EU would both support institutional reform and increase diplomatic pressure for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories. Final-status negotiations would proceed between two sovereign entities, with a more balanced power dynamic and greater international legitimacy.

Continuing to wait for ideal conditions only entrenches the status quo. Conditional recognition, linked to reform and rooted in law, would shift incentives, promote legitimacy and bring the two-state solution out of diplomatic limbo and into political reality.

5. Investing in peace: Europe’s role in building the ecosystem for regional integration 

Europe’s peace was not forged through treaties alone. It was built – slowly, deliberately – through long-term investment in infrastructure, interest-based partnerships and trust. If the EU is serious about ending this war – and preventing the next – it must begin now to lay the groundwork for a future agreement. Not just between Israelis and Palestinians, but across the wider region.

In May 2024, G7 leaders declared: “We affirm our commitment to working together – and with other international partners – to closely coordinate and institutionalise our support for civil society peacebuilding efforts, ensuring that such efforts are part of a larger strategy to build the foundation necessary for a negotiated and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

Now is the moment to act on that vision. The International Fund for Ireland didn’t wait for a political breakthrough; it helped create one. For over a decade before the Good Friday Agreement, it funded civic initiatives, cross-community dialogue and inclusive development. With support from the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom, it helped transform a fractured society into one capable of imagining – and implementing – peace.

That same vision is urgently needed today.

The seeds have already been planted in numerous organisations that just need to be supported. Years ago, I sat in a room face-to-face with Palestinians for the first time through a grassroots dialogue programme. That encounter changed my life. It revealed a simple, profound truth: the people on the other side were not enemies, but potential partners. We shared pain. We also shared hope. That experience drove me to dedicate my life to building lasting partnerships – partnerships rooted in interdependence and shared humanity.

Since then, a growing ecosystem of organisations has taken root. From grassroots networks to national coalitions, they’ve worked tirelessly – especially since 7 October – to resist despair and plant the seeds of peace. Initiatives like Alliance for Middle East Peace, It’s Time, and United for a Shared Future have mobilised thousands, drawing together civil society actors, policy influencers and even members of parliament. This infrastructure exists. It is active. And it is ready to grow – if supported with the resources and legitimacy it deserves.

In parallel, the EU should champion the formation of a regional Marshall Plan – a bold, multilateral framework for reconstruction, climate resilience, trade, and renewable energy. Linked with the India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) and regional actors, this effort could weave Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states into a web of shared prosperity. It would not only rebuild what war has destroyed – it would reimagine what this region can become.

And to give this vision roots, the EU should support the establishment of a permanent commission of Israelis, Palestinians and regional representatives to explore long-term models for shared sovereignty. Such a body could confront core issues: the right of return, economic interdependence and the governance of Jerusalem’s sacred sites. This isn’t utopian idealism – it’s pragmatic foresight. Intractable local conflicts are often unlocked within broader regional frameworks.

Political agreements don’t materialise in a vacuum. They require fertile soil. They need light and time. Europe has the experience, the resources and the moral obligation to help cultivate that ground.

The future will not build itself. But with courage, imagination and sustained investment, it can be built – together.

A vision rooted in Europe’s own story

My grandmother passed away last week. She was a Holocaust survivor – someone who had every reason to leave Europe behind. But after the war, she made a different choice. She stayed in Italy and rebuilt her life there. She trusted the promise of post-war Europe aside with the security she felt following the creation of Israel. Through staying in Italy, she eventually saw how a continent once torn apart by hatred could become a home built on dignity, safety and shared prosperity.

That belief wasn’t naïve. It was rooted in what Europe actually became.

Today, I carry her memory with me – and I think of it often, especially now. I recently participated in the European Young Leaders (EYL40) seminar hosted by Friends of Europe, where I felt a deep sense of unease. Many of us spoke about the state of the world and the war in Gaza. Beneath our conversations ran a quiet fear: that the future is slipping out of our hands.

But in these dark moments, I look to Europe’s past – not as nostalgia, but as a guide. I’ve seen how Europe transformed war into partnership. How countries that once shed each other’s blood now share currency, borders and vision. This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a blueprint.

And it’s the blueprint I hold for our region – not in spite of our history, but because of it. Our stories are already entangled. Most Israeli Jews descend from communities across the Middle East and North Africa. Most Palestinians remain dispersed across Arab countries. We are not strangers. We are neighbours shaped by exile, trauma and survival – and bound by geography and memory.

To reach a different future, we need more than policy. We need moral clarity – not neutrality. We need imagination alongside expertise and courage to act – not later, but now.

As growing numbers of Palestinians in Gaza express their willingness to leave for Europe, and as many Israelis look for the EU as their safe haven, a deeper truth is revealed: the EU is already part of this story. The question is not whether Europe is involved, but how. Will it be a bystander to collapse – or a partner in reconstruction? Will it remain a commentator on catastrophe – or rise as a co-creator of peace?

The question is no longer how to end this war.
The real question is: what future will Europe help build the day after?

The views expressed in this #CriticalThinking article reflect those of the author(s) and not of Friends of Europe.