Heads of 27 member states will attempt show of unity at Brussels meeting as disagreements continue over approach to Israel and Gaza conflict
Ahead of the leaders’ summit, a group of Irish members of the European parliament from different political families called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The group urged “the Council of the European Union to call for an immediate ceasefire, as well as urgent efforts to meet the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza.”
In a statement signed by Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Chris MacManus, Ciaran Cuffe, Grace O’Sullivan, Billy Kelleher, Colm Markey and Luke Ming Flanagan, they said:
We stress the universal applicability of international humanitarian law, its binding nature on all parties in all conflicts and remind the Council that indiscriminate warfare resulting in the killing of civilians cannot be justified - in any circumstances. Given the intensity of hostilities, and the enormous loss of life that has already occurred, we consider that calling for anything less than an immediate ceasefire would depart from the European Union’s responsibility to uphold international law, to protect human life, and to secure peace.
We see that the Russian war in Ukraine is raging. We see that the horrible terroristic attacks by Hamas on Israel are now also harming the Palestinian people and risk to destabilise the region. Migrants are pushed to search for a better life by war and conflict and come to our shores in greater numbers. With all these challenges, the European Union needs to react and act united and resolute.
This is the reason why I’ve proposed a revision of the EU budget to be able to fund these very important tasks. This will be discussed in this European Council.
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