By all indications, the talks currently taking place in Doha have reached a dead end due – once again – to Israeli intransigence. From the start, the negotiating process has been restricted to Egypt and Qatar on one side of the table and Israel backed by the US on the other. Israel has therefore been able to halt the talks at whim.
Amid growing international horror at Israel’s atrocities, a European call for a ceasefire would strengthen the side that genuinely wants to stop the war and curtail Israel’s ability to sabotage peace. It is as if Israel holds a special veto power which gives it unchecked license to protract the conflict. Netanyahu clearly has a personal stake in exercising this veto. As long as he can keep the Israeli war machine going, he can continue to dodge the corruption trials that have been dogging him for years. The proceedings have been postponed several times on the pretext of the ongoing war against Gaza, most recently at the beginning of this month.
Given how the overwhelming majority of the world’s countries oppose the deliberate perpetuation of the conflict, internationalising talks would serve the Arab negotiating side and redouble Israel’s international isolation. It might even mitigate Washington’s blind pro-Israeli bias and consequent support for Israel’s persistent prolongation of the war.
Internationalising negotiations should probably not be restricted to the EU, alone. It should also extend to the UN. In fact, why not invite UN Secretary-General António Guterres to take part in the ceasefire talks? Given the principled positions he has expressed with admirable courage and resolve on numerous occasions, his contribution would undoubtedly be constructive.
Including the UN would mean that international law and resolutions would form a natural frame-of-reference for the process. This would further notch up the pressure on Israel, which has done all it could to exclude the UN and shift the handling of the Arab-Israeli conflict to the twisted corridors of bilateral negotiations. Through this approach, Israel was able to deal with each Arab country separately while avoiding international legal and moral frameworks. It has thus thumbed its nose at all UN resolutions concerning the Palestinian cause from 1948 onwards and made a mockery of the UN itself.
Having positioned itself so obstinately against the international community, Israel should come under more pressure to comply with international legitimacy.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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