Brussels' division over Gaza risks weakening EU on foreign policy stage
According to experts, the European Union's stance in Gaza could shake the reputation of the union in the outside world. The European Union's response to Hamas' bloody attack on Israel on October 7 has cast a shadow over the bloc's ability to issue a common statement on sensitive foreign policy issues. The same bloc had managed to stay in the same line regarding Ukraine for nearly two years. At an EU summit last week, member states debated whether to call for a ceasefire to allow vital humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
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Ultimately, they coalesced around the idea of a “humanitarian pause,” meaning intermittent moments to allow aid to freely enter Gaza. They also reiterated that "Israel has the right to defend itself" and must comply with international humanitarian law (codes of conduct designed to minimize casualties and avoid causing civilian suffering during armed conflict). However, the statements made to Israel to respect the rights of civilians came late, despite the fact that the people in besieged Gaza are deprived of food, water, fuel and vital medical supplies, and the deaths of women, children and men are increasing. The EU's allies in the region, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, condemned this late and feeble statement aimed at protecting the Palestinians. Abdullah described Israel's attacks in Gaza, which killed thousands of people and left more than a million people homeless, as "global silence" and called for an egalitarian approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In his speech at the "Peace Conference for Gaza" held in Cairo, King Abdullah said "The message heard by the Arab world is loud and clear: Palestinian lives are less important than Israeli lives. Our lives are less important than other lives. The application of international law is optional. And human "There are limits to their rights. They stop at borders, they stop at races and they stop at religions."
source: euronews