Von der Leyen and Blair still want to boss Palestinians around

Tony Blair visited Ursula von der Leyen in October 2023. (Dati Bendo / European Union)

Four words are all that are needed to prove that the West’s supposed leaders are on the wrong side.

Those four words are “Europe stands with Israel.”

Those four words should forever be synonymous with Ursula von der Leyen. The European Commission’s president delivered that message while paying a visit to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, in October 2023.

Von der Leyen’s declaration of support for the genocidal war against Gaza received considerable attention. Yet the full extent of her efforts to back Israel are not widely known.

The mainstream media overlooked how Tony Blair, formerly Britain’s prime minister, had a discussion with von der Leyen in Brussels on 24 October 2023. That was less than two weeks after von der Leyen had made her “Europe stands with Israel” pledge.

The day before Blair met von der Leyen had been an especially bloody one in Gaza. More than 300 children were killed over a 24-hour period.

The total number of children Israel killed between 7 and 24 October 2023 was 2,360, according to official data.

That figure only includes deaths confirmed by hospitals. About 870 other children were estimated to have been buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings by that point.

The figure of 2,360 child deaths should be placed in perspective, while acknowledging that no child should be reduced to a number.

In Ukraine, about 560 children were killed between February 2022 – when the Russian invasion began – and October 2023.

It had been confirmed, therefore, that Israel killed over four times more children in Gaza within a period of two and a half weeks than Russia had killed in Ukraine over the preceding 18 months.

We can be fairly sure that Ursula von der Leyen and Tony Blair did not use their cozy chat on 24 October 2023 to analyze how Israel had been demonstrably more violent than Russia.

After initially rejecting a freedom of information request on this matter, EU officials have finally sent me the briefing document they drew up for von der Leyen as she prepared to receive Blair.

According to that paper – see below – Russia is waging a “war of aggression” against Ukraine. Israel, on the other hand, is described as a victim of “brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks.”

It is of fundamental importance, the document adds, “to remain firmly committed to Israel’s security and the right to self-defense.”

“There is no contradiction in standing in solidarity with Israel and acting in support of the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians,” the paper says.

“The countries in the region have a key role to play here,” it adds. “This is why we want to engage broadly with all partners who can and want to have a positive role to play in preventing further escalation, including the legitimate Palestinian authorities.”

What gives Ursula von der Leyen or Tony Blair the right to decide whether Palestinian authorities are legitimate or not?

Like any other people, Palestinians should be free to choose who represents them. Why do von der Leyen and the officials briefing her want to deprive Palestinians of that most basic right?

And what does “legitimate” actually mean?

Given the context in which von der Leyen’s advisers used the term, “legitimate” authorities appear to be those which act as a proxy for Israel and its brutal occupation.

It is instructive that EU officials felt it was necessary to draft talking points about “legitimate” Palestinian authorities for a discussion with Tony Blair.

Blair spent a decade – 1997 to 2007 – as Britain’s prime minister at a time when nobody had ever heard of the term “Brexit.” During that decade, Britain twice held the rotating presidency of the European Union.

The first of those two occasions was in 1998, when Blair promoted an EU blueprint for assisting “security cooperation” between Israel and the still relatively new Palestinian Authority. The outcome of the work involving Blair was that Israel had to be given full details about all Palestinian police officers.

Because of the agenda pushed by Blair, Palestinians were, in effect, told that they must remain subservient to Israel.

Fast forward to 2025 and Tony Blair is still trying to boss Palestinians around.

The briefing paper prepared for von der Leyen admits that Blair’s “legacy remains controversial” – an enormous understatement.

Despite how he was instrumental in starting illegal wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, Blair somehow became an ideal candidate to sit on the so-called Board of Peace for Gaza. At least, that is what his buddy Donald Trump thought a little while ago; there have been news reports in recent days indicating that Blair may either be dropped from or not be as central to the “Board of Peace” as the US president had wanted.

Business as usual

The very idea of Ursula von der Leyen and Tony Blair dictating which Palestinians can be deemed “legitimate” shows that the West has generally maintained a business as usual approach as a genocide is being carried out.

There was a brief period when it seemed that the EU could take a somewhat different approach.

Von der Leyen’s European Commission eventually proposed a few sanctions against Israel in September. That was almost a month after a famine was officially confirmed in Gaza and almost two years after the genocidal war began.

The sanctions have not come into effect. The so-called “ceasefire” announced by Trump in October has allowed the European Union to continue behaving in a business as usual manner even though Palestinians are still being slaughtered and starved.

The business as usual approach has meant that Israel and the European Union have actually taken concrete steps towards integrating their economies against the backdrop of the Gaza genocide.

In January this year, Israel introduced a significant, if little-noticed, measure. It has the less than snappy name of “What’s good for Europe is good for Israel.”

The effect of this trade reform – as it has been labeled – is that a wide range of products authorized for sale in the EU can enter Israel without having to undergo fresh inspections.

The business as usual approach is epitomized by the behavior of Michael Mann, the European Union’s ambassador in Tel Aviv.

Mann recently took part in an event hosted by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. Through a freedom of information request, I have obtained the speech which Mann gave at the event.

The Israeli import reform “What is good for Europe is good for Israel” is about to turn one! I was glad to open today’s workshop, co-organized with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Israel @businessisrael, to take stock of its implementation and improve its functioning. pic.twitter.com/MXSLWvMlU1

— Michael Mann (@MichaelMannEU) November 12, 2025

Mann made a few observations about the volume of trade between the EU and Israel over the past few years.

“I am glad,” he said, “that, despite the geopolitical challenges, business relations between the EU and Israel have performed better than expected, even when considering some disruptions on the margins.”

Notice Mann’s choice of words.

Israel has a far-right government, which is overseeing a genocide in Gaza, ramping up its violent colonization of the West Bank, threatening to execute Palestinian prisoners and constantly making the apartheid system it operates more extreme. In recent times, Israel has attacked Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Qatar.

Everyone who is paying attention knows very well that Israel is committing the crimes of genocide and aggression.

Yet instead of denouncing Israel for those crimes, Michael Mann merely refers to “geopolitical challenges.”

Mann cited data indicating that the European Union’s exports to Israel are increasing.

Between January and August 2025, the value of such exports amounted to $21.4 billion. That was nearly $1.4 billion higher than the figure for the same period last year.

Mann suggested that the reform known as “What’s good for Europe is good for Israel” may have contributed to this increase.

“The reform is a win-win,” he said. “It’s good for Israeli economic operators and consumers, but also for EU exporters, who benefit from this reform, facilitating their way to Israel’s market.”

The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner.

In July, SOMO, the Amsterdam-based Center for Research on Multinational Corporations, published a study showing that the total value of EU-Israel trade – both imports and exports – was approximately $49.5 billion in 2024. That was about $12.8 billion higher than the value of trade between Israel and the United States.

The EU could exert a great deal of pressure on Israel. By refusing to impose trade sanctions, the EU is fully accommodating a genocide.