Gaza would possibly turn into a global protectorate after the struggle, the EU has mentioned, including that neither Palestinian group Hamas nor Israel ought to ever rule there once more.
”After the earlier Gaza wars, Hamas instantly began rebuilding its arsenal and getting ready for the subsequent battle. This can’t be the case any longer. Completely different concepts are being mentioned on how this may be ensured, together with a global peace pressure below UN mandate,” mentioned European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday (6 November).
”There may be no long-term Israeli safety presence in Gaza. Gaza is an important a part of any future Palestinian state,” she added.
”Pressured displacement of Palestinians from Gaza … would solely be a recipe for extra regional instability,” she mentioned.
Von der Leyen spoke at a yearly assembly of the EU’s abroad ambassadors in Brussels.
Hamas, an EU-designated ”terrorist” group, has dominated Gaza since 2007 and has some 40,000 fighters there, however its leaders stay in Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.
Israel conquered Gaza in 1967. It pulled out floor forces and Jewish settlers in 2005, however continued its occupation through a land, sea, and air blockade.
The most recent battle noticed Hamas kill 1,400 Israeli civilians on 7 October. Israel has killed greater than 10,000 Palestinians since, together with 5,000 kids.
Von der Leyen additionally promised an additional €25m in EU humanitarian assist to Gaza, however Israeli fireplace means the overwhelming majority of international assist can’t get in. Israeli bombs have additionally killed over 60 UN assist staff in Gaza.
”A maritime hall from Cyprus … would assure a sustained, regulated, and sturdy movement of assist,” Von der Leyen mentioned.
She known as Hamas ”pure evil,” however declined to criticise Israel.
She additionally praised the ’Abraham Accords’ — a US-led initiative to normalise ties between Israel and Arab states, as a ”historic rapprochement” that ”can and should proceed”.
For his half, EU international affairs chief Josep Borrell mentioned: ”After I wakened that morning [7 October] by the disaster room phoning, I had the identical feeling as on 22 February 2022 when the [Russian] bombs began falling on Kyiv. I had a sense … we had been at an inflectional level in historical past”.
Borrell, who’s the EU ambassadors’ direct boss, was extra crucial of Israel than von der Leyen in his speech.
He urged Israel ”to not be blinded by rage” and mentioned Palestinians have an ”equal proper to exist on the identical land” as Israelis.
He condemned Israeli ”brutality” and ”colonisation” of the West Financial institution, noting that Israel has killed some 400 Palestinians there this yr and that 530,000 extra Jewish settlers have moved there up to now 30 years.
And he voiced scepticism in regards to the Abraham Accords, saying the 7 October assault had proven that any try to create normality within the area with out tackling the Palestinian query was doomed to fail.
”Even when Hamas is uprooted from Gaza, this is not going to resolve the issue of Gaza or the West Financial institution,” he additionally mentioned.
Von der Leyen and Borrell each pledged enduring assist for Ukraine’s struggle effort towards Russia’s invasion.
Von der Leyen, who was in Kyiv final Saturday, led her speech with the Ukraine struggle and gave a wink that the EU fee would possibly shortly advocate EU states begin accession talks with Ukraine this yr.
”It’s clearly in Europe’s geo-strategic curiosity to finish our Union … Historical past is looking once more,” she mentioned, reminiscent of rhetoric across the EU’s 2004 wave of enlargement.
”This struggle will stay a strategic failure for the Kremlin,” she mentioned.
Borrell in contrast Russian president Vladimir Putin to Stalin over Putin’s lack of respect for both Russian troopers or Ukrainian individuals’s lives.
He warned that the EU’s response to Gaza was being rigorously watched by African, South American, and Asian states, a few of which had been calling out ”double requirements” in Europe’s onerous line on Russia and gentle one on Israel.
The Arab-Israeli battle risked being seen as a ”civilisational combat” between the West and Muslim individuals within the wider world, he added.
”We [the EU] should not an outpost of the Western world — we’re the keeper of worldwide shared values based mostly on the UN constitution,” he mentioned.