Urgent Warning: Israel’s Escalation Risks Global Peace
Statement by Maite Mola, Head of the International Commission of the European Left Party
The European Left Party strongly condemns Israel’s recent military aggression against Iran, a provocative act that not only heightens tensions in a region with multiple conflicts, but also represents an unacceptable extension of its expansionist and colonial policy.
This attack, masked as a security pretext, is in reality one more link in the chain of aggressions that the State of Israel has perpetrated against the Palestinian people and Lebanon, seeking to divert attention from its crimes and consolidate its hegemony in the region.
The connection between the brutal and systematic oppression of the Palestinian people and this new aggression against Iran is undeniable.
For decades, Israel has maintained an illegal occupation of Palestinian territory in defiance of UN resolutions and practiced a brutal apartheid and genocidal siege of Gaza in flagrant violation of international law and the most fundamental human rights.
The aggression against Iran is not an isolated incident; it is a manifestation of the same logic that seeks to silence any dissenting voice and eliminate any counter-power in the region, thus ensuring impunity for its crimes against Palestine.
It is an attempt to reshape the geopolitical map in its favour, at the expense of the sovereignty and self-determination of the peoples of the Middle East.
This escalation represents an imminent danger to peace in the region and to global stability. The globalization of the conflict is a real threat. A full-scale confrontation between Israel and Iran would have devastating consequences, drawing in other nations and causing untold human suffering.
The peoples of the region, who have already endured decades of foreign interference and conflict induced by hegemonic interests, must not pay the price for these expansionist ambitions. Israel’s warmongering rhetoric, often amplified by certain Western media, seeks to normalise the idea of pre-emptive war, ignoring the catastrophic humanitarian and geopolitical repercussions.
It is crucial at this time to remember that lasting security can only be built on respect for sovereignty, justice, and compliance with international law — not military aggression and intimidation.
In this context, the complicity of former U.S. President Donald Trump is scandalous. His administration, characterised by its unconditional support for Israel’s aggressive policy and its unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal (JCPOA), paved the way for this dangerous escalation. Trump’s policies emboldened the most reactionary forces in Israel, giving them free rein to pursue a warmongering and destabilising agenda in the region, to the detriment of any possibility of a peaceful and just solution.
Equally shameful is the complicit silence of European Union (EU) authorities. Despite the obvious violations of international law and clear threats to peace emanating from Israeli policy, the EU has opted for a lukewarm and, in many cases, acquiescent stance. This silence not only damages the EU’s credibility as an actor in the defence of peace and human rights, but also makes it a tacit accomplice to the aggression.
We demand that the EU abandon its hypocritical stance and take firm condemnation and concrete action against Israeli aggressions, including the imposition of sanctions and unwavering support for international law. The international community can no longer afford to look the other way as the region slides into an abyss of conflict.
We therefore call on all progressive, anti-imperialist, and peace-loving forces in the world to condemn this aggression, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and to demand an end to Israel’s expansionist and warmongering policy.
The next International Peace Forum, to be held on June 23–24 in Brussels, is a moment to emphasise that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved through aggression and domination, but through justice, respect for international law, and the recognition of the inalienable rights of all peoples in the region.