The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Wednesday that it would pursue sanctions and a partial commercial suspension against Israel during the Gaza War, signaling a significant change compared to its previous position.
The EU of 27 nations is deeply divided into its approach to Israel and the Palestinians and it is not clear if a majority will be noted to approve sanctions and trade measures.
Von der Leyen added that the commission “will set up a group of donors from Palestine next month”, part of which will focus on the future reconstruction of Gaza. She said that events in Gaza and the suffering of children and families “shaken the conscience of the world”.
The Gaza Ministry of Health claims that 126 Palestinians, including 26 children, died of malnutrition causes since international experts announced famine in Gaza City on August 22. They are part of the total number of 404 people, including 141 children, who died of causes related to malnutrition since the start of the war almost two years ago.
“Artificial famine can never be a weapon of war. For the good of children, for the good of humanity. This must stop,” said Von der Leyen on Wednesday to applaud in the European Parliament at his meeting in Strasbourg, France.
The Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar in a social media position said that Von Der Leyen had succumbed to the pressures undergoing Israeli-Europe relations. He said his actions will embrace Hamas.
The comments of Von Der Leyen followed the military warning of Israel on Tuesday to the residents of Gaza City to evacuate before his plans to take control of what he depicts as the last remaining bastion of Hamas and where hundreds of thousands of people remain in famine conditions.
According to the Israeli army, around 1 million Palestinians – about half of the global population of Gaza – live in the North Gaza region around Gaza City, according to the Israeli army and the United Nations. Many are exhausted to move several times and do not know if traveling south will be safer.
The warnings against Gaza City – the first call for its complete evacuation – were before an Israeli strike on Tuesday targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, where negotiations during the end of the war in Gaza seemed to be stopped.
The strike on the territory of an American ally aroused a large conviction of the countries of the Middle East and beyond. He also marked a spectacular escalation in the region and risked upsetting talks aimed at ending the war and released hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas affirms that its senior direction has survived the strike.
Von Der Leyen also said that she was planning to freeze Israel supported by the executive power of the European Union, which would not require the approval of the 27 member countries.
It was not immediately clear how much financial support that the executive power, known as the European Commission, provides Israel and what it is used.
“We are going to suspend our bilateral support in Israel. We will stop all payments in these areas, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem,” said the Holocaust Memorial, Von Der Leyen told EU legislators.
The Commission also supports the Palestinian authority.
The war was launched by October 7, 2023 of Hamas, the foray in southern Israel, which caused 1,400 deaths and removed 251 people. About 48 hostages are still held inside Gaza, about 20 of them that would be alive.
The genocidal war of Israel, in comparison, killed more than 64,600 Palestinians, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
On Wednesday, the ministry said that organizations of 41 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to Gaza hospitals in the last 24 hours. Hospitals also received 184 injured, the ministry said in its daily report.
In addition, 12 other people were killed during this same period while looking for humanitarian aid, the ministry said.
Large parts of the major cities of Gaza have been completely destroyed and around 90% of the 2 million Palestinians were moved.
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