25 states call for immediate end to war in Gaza
Twenty-five states - including France, Italy, the UK, Spain, Canada, Australia and Japan - have published a joint statement calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and demanding that Israel fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law. Germany and the US were not among the signatories. Commentators ponder the consequences of the appeal.
This appeal could do some good
El País sees the joint appeal as a positive sign:
“This is Benjamin Netanyahu's most significant diplomatic setback so far. ... In their harsh statement the signatory states particularly condemn what they call the 'drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians'. ... So far Netanyahu has not budged an inch from his position of total destruction. On the contrary, the Likud leader has made a show of his impunity before international judicial authorities, believing that nothing will change Israel's privileged relationship with the most developed countries. It remains to be seen whether this latest initiative by a number of them will prolong the sterile chapter of pretty words or finally help to stop the killing of innocent people.”
The tone is clear
Things are now happening, Corriere del Ticino comments with approval:
“True, we are still no further than the sphere of appeals. But at least the tone of the 25 foreign ministers was unequivocal from the very first words: 'The war in Gaza must end now' ... We have mentioned the absence of Germany. It should be added that Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the floor yesterday and pointed out that the actions against the civilian population in Gaza violate humanitarian norms, but also underlined how important it is to 'keep the doors open for dialogue'.”
Israel clearly responsible
Corriere della Sera backs the appeal:
“It is not only the disproportionately high number of casualties in Gaza or the inhumane treatment of starving people trying to get food that are making the West reject Netanyahu's war. ... The question of whether people queuing for bread are shot deliberately or accidentally - or whether it's even Israeli soldiers who are doing the firing - is important, but not decisive. Because the country is occupied and controlled by the Israel Defence Forces, and independent access to the media is being prevented. Hence, everything that happens and all the chaos that reigns there is today clearly the political responsibility of Israel.”
What the EU can do
De Morgen puts forward concrete proposals:
“[EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja] Lahbib and top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas could propose sending a European humanitarian mission. ... The EU already has two missions in the Palestinian territories that could serve as a springboard for such a mission. ... Nothing prevents the Commission from proposing to turn [the EU mission] EUBAM into a full-fledged humanitarian intervention force. It could also be backed up by a police force consisting of neutral European and Jordanian officials, for example.”