‘The time for statements, resolutions and bits of paper is long gone’
“History will judge the EU very, very poorly in its response to the Israeli genocide in Gaza,” Carne Ross, former British diplomat, tells Al Jazeera.
“The lessons from various genocides that have taken place, and we’re talking about a genocide… in Gaza, including Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere, is that many, many people die before international actors respond, and that is not good enough,” he said via videolink from London.
“Each time this happens, there’s some kind of UN report that says countries need to respond much more quickly to stop mass death, and politicians wring their hands and say, ‘Never again’,” he said.
“The EU is doing nothing; it’s just… having arguments about what it should say. The time for statements, resolutions and bits of paper is long gone. What is clearly needed is substantive sanctions on Israel… and that is not forthcoming from the EU,” he said.
Relatives mourn a loved one killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a tent housing displaced Palestinians in the Nassr neighbourhood of Gaza City
Several thousand join pro-Palestinian demonstration during Venice Film Festival
The war in Gaza was one of the main talking points in the lead-up to the star-studded festival, due to an open letter denouncing the Israeli government and calling on the festival to speak out.
At the beginning of the protest march, participants held a sign with the inscription, “Stop the Genocide”, and sang pro-Palestinian chants.
The Voice of Hind Rajab, which tells the story of the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, is among the films being shown at the festival.
Golden Lion winner Giorgos Lanthimos also wore a badge with the colours of the Palestinian flag during appearances at the festival.
Demonstrators during the film festival in Venice, Italy
Pro-Palestinian chants in Brussels, German police beat more protesters
Footage released by pro-Palestinian activists, verified by Al Jazeera, showed a demonstration organised by many medical professionals in front of the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, demanding sanctions on Israel.
Participants chanted slogans condemning the attacks against Palestinians and emphasising the need for international action to stop crimes against civilians in Gaza.
After the demonstration in Frankfurt that we reported on earlier, another protest took place in western Germany’s Cologne.
Protesters marched through the city’s streets holding banners that read, “We will not die in your wars” and “No to military mobilisation”. The protesters gathered at Heumarkt Square in Cologne, and German media reported that the police demanded the protesters remove their masks and leave, and violently attacked several demonstration sites, resulting in injuries among the protesters.
1755 Die Polizei geht jetzt gleich an mehreren Stellen brutal in den revolutionären Block, um diesen mehrfach zu spalten. Es gibt zahlreiche Verletzte. #k3008 #RME #RME25 #RheinmetallEntwaffnen pic.twitter.com/BsJoDq4XE5
— Perspektive Online (@PerspektiveOn) August 30, 2025
Translation: The police [in Cologne] are now brutally intervening at several points to split protesters and there are multiple injuries.
