Israel faces mounting pressure at home and abroad

18 July 2025 | 12:04 CAT
3-minute read

As ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel continue to stall, the diplomatic landscape surrounding the conflict is shifting in unprecedented ways. Increasingly, cracks are appearing in Israel’s traditional support base, particularly in the United States and Europe, even as the war in Gaza rages on.

The most recent round of negotiations has produced little progress, despite Israeli indications that it may withdraw from certain areas of Gaza under a potential agreement. But according to Middle East analyst James Dorsey, the core issues remain unresolved. More tellingly, he notes, is the growing disapproval of Israel’s conduct — not only from long-time critics but from unlikely quarters.

“Mounting opposition or criticism to Israel [is coming] not from the traditional Israeli critics,” Dorsey explained, “but from the support base of President Trump himself, particularly among certain segments of the Make America Great Again… or America First community.”

At a recent Turning Point USA conference — a major conservative youth gathering in the US — several prominent right-wing figures, including Tucker Carlson, voiced strong criticism of Israel.

Carlson controversially alleged that the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli agent. In another telling moment, a conservative comedian at the same event challenged pro-life conservatives to oppose what is happening in Gaza, arguing that their moral consistency was on the line.

This shift in discourse among conservative Americans suggests a more fractured base of support for Israel than in past decades, a development that could impact US policy moving forward.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Israel is bracing for possible sanctions tied to its human rights record. While Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar secured a short-term diplomatic reprieve — delaying EU decisions on sanctions by two weeks — criticism is escalating. European foreign ministers are reconsidering the 25-year-old association agreement with Israel, a key trade and political cooperation framework.

Dorsey noted the changing tone among European leaders, including Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a staunch Netanyahu ally, who has publicly condemned the civilian toll in Gaza as “unacceptable.” Her rebuke followed an Israeli strike on a Catholic church compound in Gaza — an attack Israel has attributed to stray ammunition.

Perhaps more consequential was this week’s United Nations Security Council meeting, convened at the request of five EU states including the UK, to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There, the UN humanitarian coordinator remarked that Israel’s aid deliveries into Gaza were “a drop in the water,” underscoring the severe shortage of essentials in the besieged strip.

“The pressure is mounting,” Dorsey observed, “and it’s going to become increasingly difficult for the Europeans not to take action.”

Despite these tensions, there are parallel efforts under way by the United States and the United Arab Emirates to engineer renewed diplomatic ties between Israel and Mauritania — a Muslim-majority country that severed relations with Israel over its past treatment of Palestinians. Such a development would signal to Israel and its allies that diplomatic outreach remains possible with Arab states, even amid the Gaza war.

But any gains in that direction may be offset by Israel’s recent military actions in Syria. Airstrikes near Damascus this week targeted defense infrastructure, raising the stakes in the complex Syrian theatre. The strikes could further disrupt nascent talks between Israel and Syria, and more broadly complicate Syria’s internal dynamics.

According to Dorsey, “You have clashing visions of what Syria should be.” He explained that Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara envisions a unified, inclusive Syria without autonomous zones — a position backed by Turkey, which opposes any additional Kurdish autonomy near its borders. This vision is at odds with demands for autonomy from significant portions of the Druze and Kurdish populations in Syria, and risks igniting broader regional tensions.

Turkey’s support for a unified Syria could lead to friction with Israel, particularly if Kurdish autonomy becomes a flashpoint. In such a scenario, a clash between the two regional powers over Syria’s future cannot be ruled out.

Watch the Middle East Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.