Europe fails to stand up for the Druze in Syria and falls for Hamas propaganda

Cue the familiar, cynical calls for “de-escalation” – cynical because they amount to demands that Israel stand aside and allow a vulnerable minority’s fate to be decided by extremists with genocidal intent.

Cynical also because the region’s only flickers of stability or hope have come through recent Israeli “escalation”. Hezbollah has been significantly weakened, giving Lebanon finally a sliver of a chance to reconstitute itself as a functioning state; Iran’s nuclear programme has been set back, at least temporarily; and even the West’s new great hope in Syria, al-Sharaa, would not be in power had Israel not helped bring down Assad.

The West’s reaction is not merely a moral failure. It is a strategic one. Ignoring the persecution of minorities will not stabilise Syria. The country is a fragile mosaic of sects and ethnicities stitched together by colonial powers a century ago; it cannot be governed sustainably if its central authorities permit – or orchestrate – pogroms against entire communities.

Nor is this in the West’s own interest. What happens in the Middle East rarely stays there. A decade ago, the world watched as ISIS swept across Syria and Iraq, only to discover, too late, that its poison seeps far beyond. Thousands of European fighters joined the jihad, many returning home radicalised and battle-hardened. Others never left but were inspired from afar to bring carnage to European streets. This is exactly why, in order to defeat ISIS, Western powers flattened Mosul and Raqqa – actions now so conveniently forgotten by those quick to condemn Israeli operations in Gaza.

Sharaa, for his part, must now prove he is more than a jihadist in a suit. Syria’s future cannot be built on the corpses of its minorities. Western governments should impose clear conditions for engagement and support, above all the protection of these communities.

The same skewed logic on Syria is visible in the West’s approach to Gaza. On Monday, 28 Western nations – including the UK – issued a statement that blames Israel alone for problems with aid supplies and appearing to accept Hamas narratives about killings near the Israel- and US-backed aid centres. This despite repeated Israeli denials of these accounts and sometimes even video evidence disproving the accusations. The IDF recently released images of thousands of pallets of humanitarian aid already inside Gaza, still waiting to be picked up and distributed by UN agencies and international organisations. None of this seems to matter.

Rather than pressuring Hamas – whose fighters loot aid, block its distribution, and use civilians as human shields – the West defaults to blaming Israel. These same governments also called for a ceasefire, failing to note that Israel has accepted a US-backed deal and repeatedly made concessions, while Hamas continues to hold out. Small wonder the Islamists welcomed the statement: it applies pressure not on the hostage-takers, but on the democratic ally trying to defeat them.

This is not just a question of fairness or moral clarity. It is a question of diplomatic consequence. When European leaders ignore Hamas’s abuses, accept its propaganda, and turn a blind eye to jihadist atrocities in Syria, they embolden the very actors driving regional chaos.

Such unbalanced statements also undermine whatever valid criticism they may have about Israel’s military conduct and aid distribution system. They’d find more attentive ears in Jerusalem if their declarations showed more understanding of the realities on the ground.

Israel should be held to high standards. But the widening strategic disconnect between Israel and parts of Europe – and the inability even to agree on basic facts – is a deeply troubling development. Security interests remain aligned in theory. You wouldn’t know it, though, from recent European communiqués. There is a reason several EU countries, such as Germany, Romania, the Czech republic, did not sign the statement.

A moral world order worth defending cannot afford selective outrage – neither over Syria, Gaza or anywhere else.