EU summit: Draft declaration: EU calls for ceasefires in the Gaza Strip

The EU summit in Brussels will call for rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. Necessary measures also include humanitarian corridors and ceasefires, according to the latest draft of the final declaration of the summit. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza is of grave concern.

There has been a heated dispute in the EU in recent days over demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the Gaza Strip. Countries such as Germany and Austria spoke out against the EU publicly joining such calls. They argued that such a move was inappropriate given the Islamist Hamas’ ongoing terror. Countries such as Spain and Ireland, on the other hand, supported such a call because of the many civilian casualties in Israeli attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip.

According to information from the German Press Agency, the use of words like “humanitarian corridors” and “humanitarian breaks” in the plural is now intended to be a compromise and make it clear that the EU is not calling on Israel to stop the fight against Hamas with immediate effect. Countries like Germany definitely want to avoid this impression.

Regarding the atrocities committed by the Palestinian organization Hamas, the draft statement available to the dpa states that the European Council strongly condemns Hamas and its brutal and arbitrary attacks throughout Israel. The use of civilians as human shields is a particularly deplorable cruelty. We strongly emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law and humanitarian law.

The top meeting of the heads of state and government of the 27 EU states begins in the early afternoon. For Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expected to attend the two-day summit in Brussels.

Criticism of the EU dispute

Meanwhile, SPD foreign policy expert Michael Roth sharply criticizes the EU dispute over its position on the Gaza war. “Europe is divided. And if Europe is divided, it is completely irrelevant,” said the chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. “We are currently not contributing anything to a lasting solution in the Middle East because we are also leaving doubts about solidarity and friendship with Israel.”

Roth criticized: “If you now speak out in favor of a ceasefire, while perhaps even at this moment Hamas rockets are destroying or trying to destroy human lives in Israel,” then you are depriving Israel of “the right to destroy the infrastructure of terrorism in the Gaza Strip.”

But when you talk about humanitarian breaks, it’s something completely different. “We also want relief supplies to reach civilians in the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible.”

Asselborn: Europe must find common ground

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also called on the EU states to adopt a common line. If the EU wants to have political influence on solutions to the Middle East conflict, “it must at least have a common line. Know what it wants,” Asselborn said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk.

Just a few years ago, the EU had a common line, Asselborn recalled. This stated that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and in the eastern part also the capital of the Palestinians, and that the borders of Palestine were those of 1967. “We are no longer able to do that today,” said Asselborn.

With a view to today’s different positions within the EU, he took the position that it was ultimately “about the most fundamental human rights”, “that every people has the right to their own state”.

The rockets from Gaza to Israel cannot be defended “under any circumstances,” said Asselborn. But if Israelis in the West Bank continue to “annex land that actually belongs to the Palestinians,” it must be clearly stated in Israel that this must stop. Otherwise there will be “no chance of lasting peace.”

UN Security Council remains divided

The UN Security Council is currently unable to agree on a resolution with a humanitarian focus in the Gaza war. Both a draft from the USA and a draft resolution from Russia failed on Wednesday before the most powerful UN body.

The US text, which, among other things, emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense and called for a humanitarian ceasefire, was blocked by vetoes from Russia and China. The Russian proposal, which, among other things, called for a ceasefire, received only four yes votes in the committee, which includes 15 states.

Egypt’s President Al-Sisi warned against an expansion of the war. “We see with great concern that the cycle of violence may be extended to other parties in the region,” Al-Sisi said. The stated goal of the war is to eliminate Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip. “The invasion of the Gaza Strip can result in a lot of civilian casualties,” he warned – which is why it must be prevented. It is important to use the time to free hostages.