Venue: Casa Árabe
Thursday, 19 June 2025, from 10:00 to 12:10 CEST (UTC+2). Venue: Casa Árabe, c / Alcalá 62, Madrid.
Casa Árabe and the Elcano Royal Institute organised this roundtable on the major war that has broken out between Israel and Iran, which threatens to widen regionally, in the context of the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza for the past 20 months and after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
The attacks by Hamas triggered a massive Israeli military response, which devastated the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands and displacing its 2 million inhabitants, and engulfed the region. While the ICC issued arrest warrants against leaders of Hamas and Israel, and the ICJ investigated Israel for possible genocide, Israel launched a vast offensive against Iran.
The EU has struggled to respond to Israel’s onslaught against Gaza and to stop the large-scale bloodshed and humanitarian catastrophe. It eventually decided to launch a review of the Association Agreement with Israel, but the UN Conference in New York, scheduled for 17–20 June and aimed at advancing global efforts towards achieving a two-State solution to the Israel–Palestine conflict, was cancelled. The EU once again appears divided over the response to the war against Iran initiated by Israel.
This roundtable, drawing on ideas presented in the analysis ‘’Four ways in which Europe can re-engage to halt the catastrophe in Gaza’’, brought together distinguished voices to explore the urgent role that Europe can and must play in responding to the deepening crisis in Gaza.
Hashtag: #EuropeGaza
Video
Photo gallery
Agenda
10:00 – Welcoming words
- Miguel Moro, Director, Casa Árabe.
- Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute | @CharlesTPowell
10:10 – The Middle East on a tight rope: what margin for EU intervention?
- Josep Borrell, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute; former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
10:30 – First Session: The view from Europe
- Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, former EU Representative in Palestine.
- Martin Konecny, Director, European Middle East Project.
- Moderator: José Vericat, Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute.
11:15 – Second Session: The view from Palestine
- Munir Nuseibah, Palestinian human rights lawyer and academic.
- Saida Ghodaieh, Asociación Hispano-Palestina Jerusalén.
- Sonia Boulos, Associate Professor of International Human Rights Law, Antonio de Nebrija University.
- Moderator: Karim Hauser, International Relations Coordinator, Casa Árabe | @KarimHauser
12:00 – Final comments
Image. Improvised tent camp on the coast of Gaza. Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan (Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0).
