23
Apr
2024
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EU’s response to the repeated killing of humanitarian aid workers, journalists and civilians by the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip (debate)
Madam President, the tragedy of Gaza seems to have no end. Just when it looks impossible for the suffering of Palestinians to increase, reality grounds us with children killed in a playground or with mass graves and the razed hospitals. No, the terrible massacre of 7 October should never have happened, and neither should the carnage in Gaza, a disproportionate response that may amount to an unlawful collective punishment. We have seen in horror how aid workers have been targeted and killed by the IDF, how desperate citizens trying to collect something to eat were gunned down, how more than 100 journalists were assassinated, how indiscriminate bombings caused massacres of innocent civilians and unprecedented destruction. We have seen severe restrictions on humanitarian aid that deprive civilians of what they need to survive, putting them on the brink of famine. International law and international humanitarian law have been trampled upon. No, Hamas atrocity atrocities can never be justified: it was a horrendous terrorist crime. But Israel’s conduct is unacceptable. International justice will have to rule on the possible war crimes committed by all the parties, and perpetrators will have to be held to account. The only way to truly weaken Hamas and ensure Israel’s long-term security is by granting the two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, the right to have their country. By neglecting the conflict while keeping going with the occupation, today Israelis have less security and Palestinians less hope. So stop the war, release the hostages and restore a political horizon to achieve the only viable and fair solution: two states for two peoples.