UK, France, 23 other countries ask Israel to end Gaza war now
In another diplomatic setback for Israel, as many as 25 countries have urged Israel to immediately end the Gaza war and allow humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory
London: In another diplomatic setback for Israel, as many as 25 countries have urged Israel to immediately end the Gaza war and allow humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.
“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now”, the foreign ministers of the 25 countries said in a joint statement.
The signatories included the foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management has also endorsed the call.
“Drip Feeding”
The countries, many of them seen as close allies of Israel, termed the Israeli aid distribution with the help of the United States “drip feeding” and condemned the killings of Palestinians at aid site.
“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food”, the statement said.
The foreign ministers of the 25 countries also asked Israel to respect the international humanitarian law and allow aid for the Palestinians starving in Gaza.
“It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law”, they said.
The foreign ministers in their statement also called for ceasefire to bring the Israeli captives in Hamas custody home.
“A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing the captives home and ending the agony of their families”, they said.
“We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire”, the ministers said.
“Forced Displacement of Palestinians unacceptable”
In a direct reference to Trump and Netanyahu plan, the foreign ministers said the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land will not be accepted.
They also said any move to change the demography of the Palestinian land will be against international laws.
“Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law”, they said.
“We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution”, the ministers said.
The foreign ministers of the 25 countries in their joint statement also expressed their concern of illegal settlements and violence of settlers in the West Bank.
“Settlement building across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop”, the ministers said.
The statement comes about a week before the United Nations plans to hold a high level international conference to discuss two state solutions for Palestine. The conference, to be held at UN headquarters in New York, is co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia.
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