The Israeli bombing of a displaced persons camp in Rafah that has left at least 45 dead just a few days after the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to stop military actions in that area has caused irritation in the EU . “I condemn it in the strongest terms,” he criticized the high representative of EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, after meeting with the foreign ministers of the member states. The head of the Union’s diplomacy has recalled time and again that the resolutions of this court are binding on all members of the United Nations and that Israel is part of this organization. Proof that the pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s Government has increased from Brussels, even if only symbolically, is that the 27 member states have managed to agree that Israel must be summoned to discuss the Association Agreement it has signed. with the EU, as Spain and Ireland have been demanding since February.
Borrell has once again been the most demanding senior Union official with the Israeli Government, while calling on Hamas to stop firing rockets and reject these actions. The condemnation of the bombing in Rafah that the high representative has verbalized has preceded that of the president of the European Council, Charles Michel: “It is horrendous to see innocent Palestinian civilians killed in the recent attack. There is no safe area for internally displaced people in Rafah. I ask the Israeli Government to fully respect the International Court of Justice and stop the offensive in Rafah. “I urge that an immediate ceasefire be implemented and international and humanitarian law be respected.”
Neither the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on other occasions very fast on social networks, nor the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, have mentioned the attack on X. Both have an argument for maintaining silence, which also would have been valid on other occasions: according to the Union treaties, the competent voices of the EU to speak on foreign policy are that of the high representative and that of the president of the Council.
Horrendous to see innocent Palestinian civilians killed in the recent attack. There is no safe zone for the internally displaced in #Rafah.
I call on the Israeli government to fully respect the International Court of Justice and to immediately halt its military offensive in…
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) May 27, 2024
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These voices have been joined by that of the French president, Emmanuel Macron: “Outraged by the Israeli attacks that have killed many displaced people in Rafah. These operations must cease. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. “I ask for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.” The French president is on an official trip to Berlin, where he has visited the Holocaust memorial and met with two international figures in the fight against Nazism, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, who have spent most of their lives following the trail of escaped Nazis.
Outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah.
These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.
I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 27, 2024
More restrained has been the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, who, however, has shown a demanding tone that is not usual in Berlin: “We all see how horrible the situation is, this suffering cannot last one more day. […]. The temporary measures of the TIJ are binding and must be complied with. We are experiencing the opposite right now, there have been new missiles against Tel Aviv from Hamas and at the same time we see that there is no gain for Israel’s security, that no hostage is going to be freed if people now burn in their tents. International humanitarian law applies to everyone, including Israel’s military leaders.”
Baerbock, like Borrell, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, and their EU counterparts met this Monday with ministers from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in addition to the secretary of the Arab League, to seek ways to promote peace in the Middle East. The Minister of Israeli Affairs, Israel Katz, was also invited to this meeting, but he has not even responded, community sources point out.
Borrell had arrived at the meeting of ministers ready to be asked by them to reflect on how to get Israel to respect the ICJ order. One of the decisions has been to call a meeting of the Association Council with Israel. Although there is still not even a date for said meeting, which will require many new negotiations before it can even be called, diplomatic sources emphasize that the mere approval to prepare it is a significant change of attitude – this decision requires unanimity – on the part of the all from those countries that until now have rejected any gesture that could be interpreted as questioning Israel.















This was also indicated by the Belgian Foreign Minister, Hadja Lahbib, when announcing the decision to convene the Association Council “to analyze compliance with the association agreement, which contains obligations to respect human rights,” she stressed in X.
The high representative has also come out against Katz’s attacks against Spain, Ireland and Norway for recognizing the Palestinian State: “I would not call the escalation diplomatic. She is anything but diplomatic. Some of the things I’ve seen are anything but diplomatic. On the contrary, it is an absolutely unjustified and extreme verbal aggression that the Spanish Government has already taken it upon itself to reject.”
The attack on the Rafah camp and its consequences are known on the eve of Spain, Ireland and Norway recognizing the Palestinian State this Tuesday and just a few days after the UN International Court of Justice ordered a stop to the attacks on Rafah. . Hence, these three countries, early in the morning, already demanded that the Netanyahu Government respect this resolution and comply with the order. “There is widespread concern with double standards and I think it is well-founded. And that is a problem because it undermines the credibility of international institutions,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
The head of Spanish diplomacy, for his part, added: “The EU must look at what instruments we have at our disposal to support international legality, to support the International Court of Justice and to achieve compliance with its sentences and their precautionary measures. Of course, Spain, bilaterally and in its corresponding part within the European Union, will continue to support the court’s work and demand that its resolutions be fulfilled.”
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