The situation in the Gaza Strip remains the number one concern of the Twenty-Seven, who despair at the humanitarian aid blockade at the border. “Help must come, there is no point in massing trucks at the border if they cannot get in,” complained the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, this Monday, and he is also starting a tour of the region this Tuesday, which will take you to the North. visit Israel, Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. will carry in suitcase new plan conditions that must be met to achieve a result medium and long term solution to the conflict.
“This tragedy should make everyone understand that the solution must be sought on the basis of building two states. “This is not just rebuilding Gaza, we have already done this several times, it is about building a state for the Palestinians and that requires addressing the next day, but the Arab states do not want (and) want to talk about it today.” He made statements after the meeting of the council of foreign ministers held in Brussels. Borrell conveyed to the 27 a new framework containing the conditions that must be met to reach a solution, which they will have to work with. United States and Arab States.
The head of European diplomacy summarized this with the following approach: “3 yes and 3 no”. First of all, no to the forced removal of the Palestinian people from Gaza because “there can be no deportation of Palestinians that would be welcomed in other countries.” Secondly, no to the reduction and re-occupation of the lands in the Strip by Israel. And third, “not separating Palestinian problems as a whole.” As for the three yeses, they focus on looking for actors who will help build institutions: “The Palestinian Authority must return to Gaza,” the Spanish politician warned, with the legitimacy defined and decided by the Security Council before the United Nations. , yes, but also the “robust” participation of the Arab countries in the search for a solution, and yes, the EU has greater commitment to the region and, in particular, to the construction of the Palestinian state.
Europe, more available
“We have fallen far short. We have authorized the United States, but Europe needs to commit more because otherwise, if a solution is not found now, we will see a cycle of violence that will continue from generation to generation, from funeral to funeral. To contribute to this political dynamic, Israel, the day after tomorrow, “I will start visiting Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan.” he said. area. . “Some aid has arrived but we are talking about an average of 40 trucks a day passing through the Rafah crossing, which is very little compared to the 500 trucks passing a day before the war,” Borrell said. He also said that 20 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza have stopped working.
EU admits Rafah gate is inadequate They think it is necessary to increase transit capacity, which can be done by allowing trucks to pass through and “opening more dry ports” or “developing Cyprus’ sea corridor initiative”, but there is no port in Gaza and they think it is necessary to build floating bridges and this initiative This is what is currently being worked on to make it feasible,” the head of European diplomacy explained.
Sanctions against Russian diamonds
The meeting also served to evaluate two other conflicts. one of them Armenia and Azerbaijan and Russia’s war against Ukraine. Foreign ministers listened to the latest assessment of their Ukrainian counterparts via video conference Dimitro Kuleba and they talked about the needs of the coming winter. Borrell also confirmed that the European Commission is about to finalize the latest package of sanctions against Russia, the twelfth since the start of the war, which is expected to be approved this Wednesday. The proposal would include a ban on diamond imports from Russia, new restrictions on oil ceilings “so Russia doesn’t make as much money” and more measures to combat sanctions circumvention.
Once Brussels submits the proposal, it will need unanimous approval by the Twenty-Seven for it to come into force. The eleventh round of sanctions against the Kremlin was approved at the end of June. Although diamond restrictions were among the measures that Kiev had been demanding for months, the EU had resisted taking this step while waiting for the agreement it demanded in exchange for Belgium’s approval at the G7.