Foreign ministers and representatives of about 40 Arab, Islamic and European countries and international institutions met on Monday to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. This coincided with the official recognition by three European countries of the State of Palestine on the borders before June 7, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The meeting was attended by foreign ministers and representatives of Jordan, Spain, Germany, the UAE, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Bahrain, Portugal, Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, the League of Arab States, Algeria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Palestine, Finland, Qatar, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Malta, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Austria, Greece.
Two analysts who spoke to Al-Hurra website considered that communication at this level represents great importance in light of the European Union’s possession of pressure cards on Israel, whether economic or security.
The American magazine “Politico” quoted statements by Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, in which he said that European Union foreign ministers held “for the first time an important discussion about imposing sanctions on Israel if it does not abide by international humanitarian law.”
Statement by the Presidency of the Joint Ministerial Meeting on efforts to implement the two-state solution, including recognition of the Palestinian state pic.twitter.com/tA9CAeinOU
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇸🇦 (@KSAMOFA) May 27, 2024
“There was a very clear consensus on the need to support international humanitarian legal institutions,” Martin told reporters, on Monday, after the European Union Foreign Affairs Council held.
‘Hell in the area’
Professor of Political Science at Al-Quds University, Ayman Al-Raqab, said that meetings with the European Union are necessary, as the Europeans have “a pressure card represented in partnering with Israel on security or economic files,” noting in his interview with Al-Hurra website that European countries “have become aware of the It is time for the extreme right in Israel, headed by (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, to spoil every effort at a solution.”
Al-Raqab added that the meetings focused on the two-state solution, without which “the region will enter hell.”
Europe is holding discussions “for the first time” about imposing sanctions on Israel
Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin announced on Monday that European Union foreign ministers held “for the first time an important discussion about imposing sanctions on Israel” if it does not adhere to international humanitarian law, according to what was reported in the American magazine “Politico”.
On Friday, the United Nations International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its military attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and to open the Rafah border crossing to allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Strip without obstacles.
Before the bloc’s foreign ministers’ meeting, the European Union’s foreign affairs official, Josep Borrell, stressed on Monday the necessity of implementing the International Court of Justice’s decision calling for stopping the military attacks on Rafah.
But Israel continued to escalate its attacks on Rafah, and its tanks reached the city center, according to what Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on Tuesday.
This was preceded by an air strike on a camp for the displaced, west of the border city with Egypt, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, killing 45 people, according to estimates by the health authorities in the Strip, causing widespread international condemnation of the strike, which the Israeli army said targeted leaders of the Hamas movement.
The Israeli army announced, on Monday, that it had opened an investigation into the raid, after it said, on Sunday, that it had targeted Hamas officials with “precision munitions,” while Netanyahu described the strike as a “tragic incident,” stressing that his government was “investigating it.”
Greater pressure
In a related context, political analyst, Abdul Mahdi Mutawa, confirmed in statements to Al-Hurra website that the Arab-European meetings are “very important to create a position far from Israel and the United States.”
He added: “The European Union is Israel’s first economic partner. I believe that any steps from these countries will have an impact on Israel, even if the Netanyahu government tries to deny it. Every recognition represents a deduction from Israel’s credit and credibility and confirms the rights of the Palestinians to an independent state.”
He continued that the European position “increases pressure on the United States when the issue of a Palestinian state is raised in the Security Council again,” referring to the increase in the number of countries that recognize the State of Palestine and call for granting it full membership in the United Nations, instead of its current observer status.
On Tuesday, Spain, along with Ireland, officially recognized the State of Palestine. Norway informed Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa of the decree recognizing the Palestinian state on Sunday.
To stop the attacks on Rafah.. Borrell stresses the necessity of implementing the “International Justice” decision
The European Union’s foreign affairs official, Josep Borrell, confirmed on Monday that the decision of the International Court of Justice calling for stopping the military attacks on Rafah must be implemented, before a meeting of the European bloc’s foreign ministers and a number of Arab countries in Brussels.
In response to the Spanish decision, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on Tuesday accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of complicity in “incitement to exterminate the Jews” after his country recognized a Palestinian state.
Katz addressed the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, through his account on the “X” platform, saying: “You are complicit in incitement to exterminate the Jews,” likening the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Diaz, to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and the head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, as they all call for “the establishment of a Palestinian Islamic terrorist state from the river to the sea,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
The three European countries, two of which are members of the European Union (Spain and Ireland), hope that their symbolic initiative will prompt other countries to join it.
Israel’s Foreign Minister accuses his Spanish counterpart of “complicity in incitement to exterminate Jews”
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz accused the Spanish Prime Minister of complicity in “incitement to exterminate the Jews” after his country recognized a Palestinian state.
The issue raises profound differences within the European Union, as other member states, such as France, believe that the time is “not appropriate” now, while Germany does not consider such recognition except as a result of negotiations between the two parties, according to Agence France-Presse.
For his part, Al-Raqab pointed out that the continuation of “the Israeli occupation will continue to create hatred for Israel, not only in Gaza, but this will extend to all Palestinian territories and abroad, and the matter has reached Europe and America.” He continued: “The more delay there is, the worse things will get.”
While Mutawa explained that these discussions and confessions “are so important that Israel fights them with all its might. Transforming the status of Palestine from an observer state to a full membership means that everything within the 1967 borders is occupied land and all the facilities on it represent a war crime and open a wide door.” To be pursued,” he said.
Reviving the Rafah mission
European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell announced, on Monday, that the bloc is seeking to reach an agreement in principle in order to move forward with the revival of its designated border assistance mission in Rafah, adding that all parties must agree to that step.
The European Union is considering reviving its border assistance mission, known as EUBAM, in Rafah, which has been suspended since 2007, when Hamas took complete control of Gaza, according to Reuters.
The Rafah crossing is the main point for entering aid from Egypt, and it has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it from the Palestinian side about three weeks ago.
“They gave me approval, the green light politically, to reactivate EUBAM, our mission in Rafah,” Borrell told reporters at Monday’s meeting, which was also attended by prominent Arab ministers. “This could play a useful role in supporting the entry of people into and out of Gaza.”
He added, “But this must be implemented in agreement with the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptians, and of course Israel. We will not do this alone. We will not be assigned to carry out the security mission on the border. We are not a security company.” He added that the Union is currently preparing technical plans.
For his part, Mutawa confirmed that the Arab-European meetings resulted in this European acceptance of renewing the presence of his mission at the Rafah crossing, “which may lead to arrangements to open it again with a European presence, in addition to the encouraging position that the Palestinian Authority should supervise the Gaza Strip with the aim of reaching a political solution.”
The war broke out in Gaza following the unprecedented attack by Hamas (classified as a terrorist group in the United States and other countries) on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, according to the Israeli authorities.
In response to the attack, Israel pledged to “eliminate Hamas,” and has since carried out a bombing campaign followed by ground operations since October 27, resulting in the deaths of about 36,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to what the health authorities in the Strip announced.
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