Brussels – One year ago, on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,400 civilians and military personnel and dragging 240 others into Gaza. Since that day, the Israeli military has placed the Gaza Strip under total siege. A year later, the Palestinian enclave is reduced to piles of rubble, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli shelling, nearly 100,000 wounded. Today, the European Parliament paid tribute with a minute’s silence to “all the innocent victims”.
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, opened the plenary session in Strasbourg by recalling “the horror of that day that will last forever.” And reiterating that “nothing can ever justify mass murder, rape, kidnapping, and torture.” Present in the room was a delegation from the families of the Israeli hostages still detained in Gaza, to whom the MEPs gave a very long applause. Metsola then left the floor to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, who has spent the past year chasing member countries and calling them to unity over a conflict that instead has shed light on the divisions and subsequent insignificance of the European Union in the Middle East.
“The tragedy is that Europe is deeply absent from this conflict, probably due to the fact that the member states, who are the ones dictating foreign policy, are deeply divided,” admitted the European diplomacy chief. Spectator of a scenario that “is only getting worse.” After one year, “the entire Middle East is on the brink of a complete conflagration that the international community seems unable to control,” Borrell continued. Alarmed by Israeli bombings “in densely populated areas of Lebanon,” Iran’s firing of missiles at Israel, and “particularly worrying new developments in the West Bank.”
For Borrell, however, there is one undeniable issue: “The two-state solution, the only one we know of to try to build peace, does not have the support of one of the most important parts of the problem.” The current government of Israel. A government that, in its blind response to Hamas, has refused any indication from international institutions, even going so far as to declare the UN secretary-general an “unwelcome person” on its home soil.
And so, for Borrell, “it is important to take a stand.” As did “the president of the French Republic,” he added, referring to Emmanuel Macron’s call not to supply arms to Israel. The High Representative stressed that “no military solution will bring a future to the peoples of Israel and Palestine” and that “an immediate ceasefire on all fronts is the only way to achieve the release of hostages and to de-escalate this extremely dangerous situation for the region.”
This morning, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a note on the anniversary of the Hamas attack. An attack that “brought immense suffering not only to the people of Israel but also to innocent Palestinians.” The EU leader called once again on “all sides” to act “responsibly and with restraint.” European Council President Charles Michel said again that “a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are of utmost urgency.”
On the anniversary of October 7, the European Movement launched an appeal to Brussels, calling for extending the Temporary Protection Directive, first applied for Ukrainian citizens and in force until March 2025, to people fleeing the warring territories in the Middle East “with particular reference to women and children.” Because “the war in Lebanon, the military escalation in the Gaza Strip and the forgotten horror in Yemen are causing millions to be displaced with one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.” A stand must be taken, as Borrell said.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
