Israel-Hamas war prominent topic on the agenda of EU leaders meeting in Brussels

Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta want EU leaders to debate the situation in Gaza and jointly call for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that would end the conflict, they said in a letter to Charles Michel. Developments in the war between Israel and Hamas will be a prominent topic on the agenda of European Union leaders who meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, writes Yossi Lempkowicz.

In his invitation letter to the 27 leaders, European Council President Charles Michel wrote: "We must call for all hostages to be released and vigorously address the alarming humanitarian situation in Gaza."

He added: "We have to be strong in supporting Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself against Hamas, as well as in unequivocally defending international law and international humanitarian law."

"Our broader reflection will include working towards security and stability in the region and prospects for lasting peace based on the two-state solution," he wrote.

"We should also address all forms of hate, antisemitism, intolerance, racism and xenophobia, including anti-Muslim hatred."

Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta want EU leaders to debate the situation in Gaza and jointly call for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that would end the conflict, they said in a letter to Charles Michel.

The letter from the four countries’ Prime Ministers stressed the seriousness of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the possibility of the conflict escalating throughout the region.

Advertisement

According to Reuters, the letter irge EU leaders to  reach a common position to “urgently ask the parties to declare a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that can lead to the end of hostilities” and ask for measures to immediately protect Gaza civilians.

The four countries also called for an international peace conference on Gaza as soon as possible to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The four countries also said that to prevent the violence from spreading into the West Bank, the assets of violent Israeli settlers who are attacking displaced Palestinian communities should be frozen.

At a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Monday,  European Union member states have not reached a common position on a call for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. This has also been reflected at the United Nations General Assembly vote on a resolution calling for such a ceasefire. Austria and Czechia voted against while the other members states where divided between those who voted in favor and those who abstained, such as Lithuania,  Germany, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Hungary and Slovakia.

"I don’t know what will be the result of the discussion but as you know the member states in the United Nations voted in different approaches. There is no common position. There are different approaches but there are more member states todfay supporting a ceasefire than in the previous vote. This is a fact,” said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell as she arrived at the EU Council meeting today (14 December).

He said the situation requires certainly a humanitarian stop in the fight in order to free the hostages and avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

"We have also to start thinking about how do we deal with the problem in a political approach. The Arab countries have already said that they will not participate in rebuilding Gaza unless there is a strong commitment from the international community to build a two-state solution. We have to focus on the political solution to the problem once for all,” Borrell said.

Share this article: