EU sidelined and divided as war rages again in Middle East

Analysis: internal tensions and differences with the US have left the bloc unable to take a clear position on Israel-Palestine

If the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, wanted to symbolise the Joe Biden administration's determination not to become embroiled in the Israel-Palestine issue, he could not have timed better his current trip to Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Important discussions on the Arctic and the climate crisis may be on the agenda, but the chilly north is a distance from the tunnels, rocket fire and screams of those suffering in the latest war in the Middle East.

It may well be that in his numerous calls to key regional actors on the plane to Denmark Blinken made more progress in inching Israel, and Hamas, towards a ceasefire the US had been reluctant to demand in public.