The EU is against the Gaza blockade. And canceled the suspension of aid to Palestine

Israel certainly has the right to defend itself, but it still must respect international law and cannot impose an all-out blockade of the Gaza Strip that would have devastating humanitarian consequences. This is the position emerging from the extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council on the war in the Middle East, which also overturned the decision to suspend aid to Palestine, forwarded by the Commission yesterday. EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell summarized the position of the Twenty-Seven at the end of the meeting and said, “Israel has the right to defend itself, but it must act in accordance with international law and humanitarian law.”

The head of EU diplomacy, who works in Muscat, Oman, warned: “As the United Nations has stated, some actions such as cutting off water, electricity and food to civilians are against international law.” He chaired the meeting held yesterday via video conference with the participation of only a few ministers. The total blockade of the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on the planet and home to more than two million people, was announced by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday as part of the response to Hamas’ attack. It caused the deaths of more than 900 Israelis. “We fight with animals and act accordingly,” he thundered.

More than 830 Palestinians have already been killed and 4,250 injured as a result of Tel Aviv’s bombing of the Strip. There are currently more than 200 thousand displaced people, and the situation is expected to worsen given Israel’s intention to launch a ground offensive that could last weeks. It is therefore essential that EU states provide support to the civilian population in both Gaza and the West Bank. “We must distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority (which governs the West Bank). We see Hamas as a terrorist organization and its actions show that it acts that way. But the Palestinian Authority is something else, it is a terrorist organization. It is our partner,” he said. said Borrell.

“Not all Palestinians are terrorists,” the High Representative said, assuring that “there is a clear majority, with two or three exceptions, that support for the Palestinian Authority should continue and payments should not be interrupted.” The Spaniard concluded that overall “the programs should be reviewed to check whether there is any connection between our aid and the activities of Hamas, but this should not be an excuse to delay aid to the Palestinian people.”

Communicating through von der Leyen yesterday was the Hungarian Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi. In the evening, Civil Protection Commissioner Janez Lenarcic had announced that humanitarian aid would continue, and in the end a rather vague press release from the community manager left more questions than answers. The direction of rotation is now determined by the member states.

Brussels contributed nearly 300 million euros to Palestinian organizations last year and allocated a total of 1.8 billion euros between 2021 and 2024. This money is used by the Palestinian Authority to help pay the salaries of public employees and finance projects in the occupied territories. By supporting UNRWA, the United Nations organization and some non-governmental organizations for social assistance, medical facilities and aid to refugees. As the commission itself explained, approximately 2.1 million of the 5.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank are in need of humanitarian assistance.

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Source: Today IT

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