2024-02-17 15:16:42
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also sees the Middle East war as an opportunity to bring lasting peace to the region. For him, one way to do this is to establish a Palestinian state, as he reiterated on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. In Munich, China also continued to push for an end to the Gaza war and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Hungary, however, has prevented a joint EU appeal to the Israeli government.
As several diplomats confirmed to the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Budapest did not want to accept that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Israel on behalf of all 27 EU states not to launch a new military offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip. Borrell might therefore only make the statement on Saturday in his own name.
The text states that the EU is very concerned regarding the Israeli government’s plans for a possible ground operation in Rafah. We therefore call on the Israeli government not to take military action in the city of Rafah, which would worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance. It is important to ensure the protection of all civilians at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law.
There are efforts to reform the Palestinian Authority so that it becomes a reliable partner for Israel, said the US Secretary of State in Munich. And it is more urgent than ever to create a Palestinian state, also in order to increase Israel’s security. “There is a chance to escape this vicious circle once and for all,” said Blinken. “This is a path that is difficult but possible. The alternative would be to repeat the vicious circle over and over once more.”
Blinken made it clear: “We are committed to Israel’s security, that has always been clear and remains so.” Israel must ensure that the October 7 massacre carried out by radical Islamic extremists does not happen once more. What matters is how Israel achieves this. Civilians in the Gaza Strip must be protected, and the help that the people there need must also arrive.
Only through an end to the Gaza war and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state can there be peaceful coexistence in the region, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich conference, according to an official translation. China has a clear stance on the conflict and is on the side of justice. The suffering of the Palestinians must end.
The militant Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas, meanwhile, blames Israel for the stalled negotiations over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas boss Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday that it was up to Israel that there was too little progress in the negotiations. Hamas accepts “nothing less than a complete cessation of aggression, the withdrawal of the occupying army from Gaza and the lifting of the unjust siege.” In addition, in a new agreement to release Hamas hostages, Israel would also have to release Palestinian prisoners who had been sentenced to long prison terms in exchange.
According to Borrell, the situation in the Middle East will also be a topic at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. During the talks, the start of the military operation in the Red Sea, which has already been agreed in principle, should also be decided. He plans to send European warships to the region. These are then intended to protect merchant ships there from attacks by the militant Islamist Houthis from Yemen. The militia wants to use shelling of ships to force an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which followed the Hamas massacre in Israel.
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