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The World From Berlin

Little Hope Seen for Europe's 'Chaotic' Mediation Efforts

With the US sidelined from world diplomacy ahead of the January 20 transfer of power to Barack Obama, Europe is trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But its prospects for success are slim, write German commentators.

There's no shortage of Europeans offering to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. In fact, there are too many of them, and Europe's fragmented efforts seem doomed to fail, write German newspaper commentators. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in the region, along with a separate European Union delegation organized by the Czech government which holds the rotating EU presidency, plus EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, as well as former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the special envoy to the Mideast Quartet, and a Russian diplomat.

Europe is trying to step into a diplomatic vacuum left by the US, the traditional power broker in the Middle East, because the government in Washington is in limbo for the coming two weeks until President George W. Bush formally hands power over to Barack Obama. But Europe's many envoys are a hindrance to each other, German media say. The Czech delegation in particular seems to be wasting its time after Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg came out strongly on Israel's side a few days ago, they argue.

Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Just like in every hot conflict between Israel and radical Palestinians, a diplomatic machinery has been kick-started that will merely heighten the general frustration."

"This Monday several European groups of mediators will travel to the region after the United Nations Security Council, in its age-old division, came up with resolutions that were ripe for the rubbish bin. French President Sarkozy is flying to the region in his capacity as current chairman of the Security Council, and still seems to be basking in the glow of his just-ended EU presidency. That hasn't prevented the current Czech EU presidency from letting its foreign minister try to mediate while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has also been permitted to take up the scent after six lean months under the French presidency, and of course the Middle East quartet's envoy Tony Blair mustn't be forgotten either."

"This chaos won't result in any order, let alone lead to peace. In the Middle East, strength is what counts. Those who publicly work against each other and thereby weaken each other can't be impressive negotiating partners. The so-called mediators don't just lack authority, above all they lack access. The Europeans made a conscious decision to vilify Hamas. Now they can't act on behalf of an organization they have only just condemned as dangerous."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"Czech Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg was one of the first in the EU to side unequivocally with Israel in recent days. Hamas excluded itself from the political dialogue with its rocket attacks on Israeli cities, said Schwarzenberg. Schwarzenberg is the foreign minister of the country that has chaired the EU presidency since January 1. So he should take account of the difficulties the EU has in finding a common position with a view to the situation in the Middle East."

"The chances of the EU of mediating successfully between the Israelis and Palestinians are already poor, but the chances of the Czech presidency doing so are virtually zero. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has a lot less weight as new EU president than his predecessor."

The left-wing Berliner Zeitung writes:

"The ground offensive that has now rolled into Gaza is far more massive than the diplomatic initiatives launched by the international community. Israel is hoping to hit Hamas with such sustained strikes that in the end the Islamists cannot portray themselves as the victors."

"The Israeli military machine may be running at full throttle but Hamas is still firing rockets. And it has a decent chance of being upgraded indirectly in the end as a partner in a cease-fire agreement. So one has to ask: Couldn't all this have been achieved through negotiation in the first place? The victims of this war are mainly the civilians: women, children, elderly people in the Gaza Strip and to a far lesser extent in the south of Israel where the Hamas rockets are landing. But the world is behaving just like it did in 2006: Diplomacy is being conducted as slowly as possible to see if military gains can be achieved."

David Crossland and Daryl Lindsey, 1230 CET