European researcher: The racist mentality behind the West's inability to act to stop the genocide in Gaza.

In her article in The Guardian, researcher Shada Islam points out that one word summarizes Europe's inability to act to stop the aggression against Gaza: "racism." She explains that this inability is manifested in the silence of European governments and their disregard for what is happening in Gaza, where the city is subjected to intense bombing and airstrikes.

Islam discusses the increasing criticisms faced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team due to the controversial tariff agreement between the EU and the United States. She emphasizes that there is a greater need to hold the EU accountable for its complicity in the genocide being perpetrated by the occupation in Gaza.

Islam anxiously follows how European governments continue to downplay what is happening in Gaza, despite the many sanctions and tools that could be used against the occupation, yet they refuse to activate them. She points out that the EU is the largest trading partner of the occupation, complicating the situation further.

The writer notes that the occupation's exports to the EU increased at the beginning of 2024, while Germany merely announced a halt to the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza, despite German arms licenses amounting to 485 million euros in the 19 months following the attack on October 7.

Islam asserts that the real dilemma lies in Europe's political and moral paralysis, which is closely linked to structural racism and the violence practiced against minorities. She considers that the colonial mentality rooted in European policies towards migrants and refugees is reflected in the abandonment of Palestinians.

Islam addresses European bias by comparing the EU's treatment of Ukraine versus Gaza, where unprecedented sanctions were imposed on Russia and financial and political support was granted to Kyiv, while the suffering of Palestinians was portrayed as a humanitarian crisis devoid of political context.

She notes that Palestinian-American academic Rashid Khalidi described the conflict as "the last colonial war of the modern era," reflecting the depth of the crisis. She emphasizes the need for Europe to review its past and present in the context of its commitment to international law.

Islam warns that European decision-making circles consider discussions about racism to be divisive, deepening the credibility crisis. She points out that the European anti-racism plan of 2020 lost momentum after the first coordinator for combating racism in the EU was marginalized.

She stresses that any serious accountability for the EU's inaction towards Gaza will remain incomplete unless it confronts its structural racism. She asserts that Gaza has exposed all the excuses, and European decision-makers must face these truths.

Islam concludes by stating that working to dismantle these truths, no matter how harsh, is the only way to achieve justice for the Palestinians.