The situation in the Gaza Strip, besieged by Israel in response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, is critical. However, the EU has not agreed to demand a ceasefire – which some countries such as Spain are demanding – due to the categorical refusal of Austria and, to a lesser extent, Germany and the Czech Republic. The Twenty-seven have demanded this Monday “immediate pauses” in hostilities so that humanitarian aid reaches the Strip. While hostilities continue, the Twenty-Seven are already talking about the day after the war. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, put a series of proposals on the table of the EU foreign ministers this Monday in Brussels as a horizon for the post-war, with the support of the US, the UN and the Arab countries. . “We need to focus on a medium and long-term solution, a post-conflict scenario that can continuously guarantee stability and allow peace to be built between Palestinians and Israelis and in the entire region,” he said.
The European Commission has announced that it will quadruple, up to 100 million euros, humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. The problem is how to get that support to the Strip. “The Rafah Pass [desde Egipto] It is not enough,” warned Borrell, who has spoken of the need to open more land entry points or to develop a maritime corridor (a proposal from Cyprus) to channel aid. More than 11,200 people have died in the Strip, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza – governed de facto by Hamas—by the bombings of the Israeli Army after the attacks by the Islamist militia, which killed 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians.
The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, who has highlighted the need for a ceasefire, has warned against the “terrible situation” in the Middle East. “The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate,” said the Spanish minister who, in a press conference in Brussels, after the meeting with his counterparts, highlighted the “unbearable numbers of Palestinian deaths.” “Europe must help put an end to this situation,” said Albares. Spain will host a meeting of countries from the Union for the Mediterranean group at the end of November and hopes that it will be a forum to advance future solutions and that it will have the presence of Palestinian and Israeli representatives.
Postwar “mental scheme”
The head of European diplomacy will travel to Israel and Palestine on Wednesday and then visit Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan to analyze humanitarian aid access to Gaza and some political issues. Borrell explained in a press conference that he has analyzed with the foreign ministers of the Twenty-seven a “mental scheme” that serves to set the post-war horizon. “We believe that a Palestinian authority – not the Palestinian Authority – must return to Gaza, whose terms of reference and terms of authority are supported by the Security Council [de la ONU], with the support of the Arab States,” he noted. “It is understandable that the Palestinian Authority does not want to enter Gaza on top of an Israeli tank,” Borrell added. Israel opposes the Palestinian Authority (which governs the West Bank) taking over the management of the Strip.
“In addition, there has to be a greater role for the EU, especially in reconstruction. We have been too absent from this problem that we have delegated to the US. The EU has to commit more. If not, we will live a cycle of violence from generation to generation and from funeral to funeral,” said Borrell, who insisted that there cannot be any type of forced displacement of Palestinians out of the Strip or “reoccupation” of Gaza by Israel. “The loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives shows the moral political failure of the international community,” stressed the head of European diplomacy.
..
Subscribe
Follow all the international information onFacebook andxor inour weekly newsletter.
.
.
_
