EU Leaders Set To Discuss Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza amidst Israel Attacks
European Union (EU) leaders are meeting today in Brussels for a summit overshadowed by Hamas’s war in Gaza with Israel and the EU’s failure to project a united front.
For weeks, the European Union’s stance on the war has been clouded with mixed messages, diplomatic gaffes and conflicting national views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But after days of disagreement, EU leaders aim to reach a common position. At issue is whether to back a ceasefire or humanitarian pauses in the fighting.
EU member states hold sharply differing views and it all makes for a very confusing picture. Spain’s caretaker prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, wants a humanitarian ceasefire.
Germany and other countries do not support the idea of one, singular humanitarian pause, because that would be too close to the concept of a ceasefire, when Israel has the right to defend itself from attack.
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According to the draft conclusions, heads of state and government will urge Hamas to “immediately release all hostages without any preconditions” and warn regional actors against fuelling an “escalation” of violence, a thinly-veiled reference to the possible involvement of Hezbollah and Iran in the war.
Leaders will also express their readiness to revive the peace process towards a two-state solution, which is seen as a far-off goal by both Israelis and Palestinians.
During Thursday’s talks, the European Council will try to dispel any doubts that support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression has faded to the background amid the renewed attention to the Middle East.
The draft conclusions feature a total of 14 paragraphs devoted to Ukraine on various aspects such as security commitments, critical infrastructure, the prosecution of war crimes and the use of immobilised Russian assets to pay for the reconstruction, a thorny question that remains stuck in the theoretical realm.
