2023-11-11 03:43:33
The foreign ministers of the European Union will reiterate this Monday the request for humanitarian pauses in the war in Gaza, in a meeting in which they hope to start the debate on the future of the Strip, in full contacts of the EU with the United States and the Arab countries to avoid a regional escalation and work together for a future Palestinian State without the participation of Hamas.
In the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas that leaves more than 11,000 dead and has unleashed a rampant humanitarian and displaced persons crisis in the Strip, the EU wants to improve humanitarian access to the Gazan population, which is why a new call is expected to Israel to establish pauses and corridors to increase the flow of aid to the civilian population.
In the community capital they recognize the extreme situation that the population of the Strip is going through and although they see Tel Aviv’s announcement that it will facilitate the departure of civilians as a good first step, they point out reasons for concern in the crisis, such as the tension in the West Bank or the hostages taken by Hamas.
European diplomacy respects the Israeli military response to Hamas, following the unprecedented attack launched in its own territory on October 7, and is very careful to qualify whether the Israeli reaction respects International Law, although it does ask it to adjust to it and avoid the suffering of the civilian population.
Although the idea of launching a new European position on the humanitarian situation in Gaza has circulated, the truth is that the divisions between member states make it difficult to go beyond what was agreed by the leaders at the last summit. The sensitivity of countries such as Germany or Austria weighs, which emphasize that support for Israel has to be the starting point in any EU position on the conflict.
The future. At Monday’s meeting, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, wants to put on the table a series of elements for the day following the war in Gaza. The idea is to debate and advance a European plan that, although difficult to carry out on its own, will gain support among Arab countries and Washington.
“We have to think regarding the future of the people of Gaza. It is our responsibility and our duty,” underlines a senior EU official who insists that there is consensus among the Twenty-Seven to reject the forced displacement of Gazans and that the Palestinian Authority take charge of the coastal enclave.
In Brussels they defend the role of the Palestinian Authority, despite recognizing its weakness in recent years, and assure that “there is no alternative” to Gaza being run by this institution, insisting that supporting the entity led by Mahmoud Abbas is an “bet on legitimacy.”
“We cannot conceive of anything other than Palestinian government over Palestinian territory. We cannot conceive of any other government than that of the Palestinian Authority,” emphasizes this senior official.
This same week in front of the EU ambassadors gathered at the annual conference, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assured that the solution to the conflict in Gaza requires Hamas disappearing from the enclave, not controlling it or govern, and that, for its part, Israel commits to lifting the blockade and avoiding a long-term military presence. This was the first idea expressed by a community leader regarding the steps to follow once the crisis in the Middle East is over.
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