Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Politico: EU diplomats had to explain Borrell's words on Gaza consensus
European diplomats had to apologise and explain for the words of European Union diplomacy chief Josep Borrell about the existence of a basic consensus among EU leaders on a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip. Politico reported this on November 13, citing sources. According to the publication, Borrell said in October that there was a basic consensus among ministers on the need for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, but that four more days of negotiations and a five-hour closed-door meeting of European leaders were needed to reach an agreement. On the text.
"The basic consensus was far away. While Spain sought a complete ceasefire, countries such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic wanted to avoid any language that might violate Israel's right to self-defence," the publication said.
As a result, the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, was forced to explain to EU representatives why Borrell had announced the existence of the consensus in advance.
A European diplomat told Politico that Sannino apologized for Borrell's words.
"Everyone knew it wasn't Sannino's fault, he was criticized for Borrell's remarks," He said.
As EFE reported on 23 October, the head of European diplomacy announced that a "basic consensus" had been reached on a humanitarian pause in Gaza at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. On the same day, Borrell pointed to the need for a humpause and noted that the priority was to deliver aid to the region.
Later, on 31 October, the European politician strongly condemned the Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and also recalled the European Council's call on the Palestinian movement Hamas to immediately release all hostages without any preconditions.
Borrell last called for an immediate humanitarian pause on Monday 13 November at a meeting of the EU Council at the level of foreign ministers. He said Israel needs to exercise restraint in choosing targets in Gaza to reduce civilian casualties.
On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a four-hour pause in military operations for humanitarian purposes in the Palestinian town of Rafah on the border with Egypt. IDF spokesman Avichai Edri said that the humanitarian corridor will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time (11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Moscow time), during which time the IDF will provide an opportunity for refugees from the Palestinian camp. from Esh to leave.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of 7 October when Hamas exposed Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and also attacked border areas in the south of the country. On the same day, Israel began retaliating against targets in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians intend to return the borders between the two countries to those that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, with a possible exchange of territory. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel rejects these conditions.
(Izvevestia/JaV)
English 
Czech