Israel has rejected demands from the 27 EU countries for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “Israel currently rejects a humanitarian ceasefire,” a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Friday in response to the decision of the EU summit in Brussels. This includes “any form of required ceasefire.” But humanitarian aid is still possible “as long as it does not end up in the hands of Hamas terrorists.” So far, very few aid supplies have arrived in the closed coastal area with more than two million inhabitants.
On Thursday, EU heads of state and government struggled for five hours over their demands on Israel. Spain wanted to enforce a complete ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which was bombed by Israel in response to Hamas terror. This went too far for Germany and other countries. They did not want to limit Israel’s right to defense so far. The compromise wording at the time was “humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian purposes” to allow, at least temporarily, safe supplies to the civilian population. But Israel also rejects this.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of an “indiscriminate bombardment” in view of the massive Israeli attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip. France fully recognizes Israel’s will and right to fight Hamas terrorists and is ready to help. “But we believe that the complete blockade, the indiscriminate bombardment and especially the prospect of a large-scale ground offensive are not suitable to adequately protect the civilian population,” he said.
Macron said he asked Israel to take the time to properly prepare further steps ahead of a possible ground offensive. He called for a humanitarian ceasefire and announced a coalition with several European countries to, among other things, set up a humanitarian corridor at sea.
During his trip to the Middle East at the beginning of this week, Macron had already proposed using the coalition established in 2014 to fight the terrorist organization Islamic State against Hamas. “France is ready that the international anti-IS coalition, within which we are committed to our operations in Iraq and Syria, can also fight Hamas,” he said. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was cautious about the initiative. The EU is now mainly focusing on the issues jointly decided at the Brussels summit, he said. “And I think that’s what you have to do.”
In addition to ceasefires and safe corridors, the heads of state and government had spoken in favor of an early peace conference. Scholz explicitly supported this idea. “It could be the right sign at the right time,” he said. EU Council President Charles Michel said that, in his opinion, such a conference could be organized within a few weeks or months.
During the two-day summit, the EU also once again discussed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It assured the country of continued supplies of arms and ammunition before the second winter of the war. They also promised the delivery of additional power generators and mobile heating stations, as well as greater efforts to force Russia to participate in repairing war damage.
The European Union will provide decisive financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic assistance to Ukraine and its people for as long as necessary, the heads of state or government said in a joint statement. The EU’s support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering.
Scholz was certain that the current focus on the Gaza war would not change this. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had received assurances “that our support for Ukraine will not decrease,” the SPD politician said after the summit. Nor will it be affected by the fact that “we now have this bitter new problem born of Hamas’ terrible, brutal attack on Israel and its citizens.”
(hah/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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