Keystone-SDA
Switzerland, the European Union and 23 other countries denounced Tuesday a situation of “famine” in Gaza. They called to act in a “urgent” way to end it.
(Keystone-ATS) “Humanitarian distress in Gaza has reached an unimaginable level. A famine takes place before our eyes, ”wrote the EU and 24 countries in a joint press release. These states urged Israel to “authorize all humanitarian aid for international NGOs and to remove the obstacles that prevent humanitarian workers from intervening”.
“Switzerland has joined other states in a declaration expressing its deep concern in the face of new registration restrictions imposed on NGOs, which could force essential humanitarian actors to leave the occupied Palestinian territories, thus aggravating the crisis in Gaza”, writes the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE) on X.
The declaration calls for safe and large-scale access to humanitarian aid, the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, a lasting cease-fire and the release of all hostages, he adds.
UE divided
This declaration is signed by the head of diplomacy of the EU Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministers of the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovénie, and United Kingdom.
There are 17 EU member states, including France, but not Germany. The twenty-seven were particularly divided on the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis Israel since the start of his war in Gaza against Hamas, in a reply to the unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023 on Israeli soil by this Palestinian Islamist movement.
Several countries, including Germany, have long insisted on the right of Israel to defend itself, respecting international law, while others, like Spain, denounce a “genocide” against the Palestinians of Gaza. Berlin, however, began a major change of CAP on Friday, announcing to suspend arms exports that Israel could use in Gaza.
Within the commission, the lines also begin to move. In an interview given to Politico, his vice-president Teresa Ribera considered that the situation in Gaza “looked very much” to a “genocide”.
