The opinions of European Union countries are divided on the issue of recognizing the Gaza Strip as an independent state. The EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, stated that she personally finds it difficult due to the lack of unity on this issue, and that this split affects the EU's credibility on the world stage, writes UNN with reference to Euro News.
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If you ask me personally how I feel, that I am to blame for us not having a solution, then it is difficult. Very difficult. It is clear that the member states have not reached an agreement on how to make the Israeli government change course. The options are clear and remain on the table. We have presented a document with options. But the problem is that not all EU member states agree
The chief diplomat said that member states have still not agreed on a plan to suspend free trade with Israel under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Some countries have expressed their disagreement, including Germany and Hungary, while Denmark, which currently holds the Council presidency, has stated that it would support a suspension.
If the majority grows, then the gap does not increase, but actually decreases, because the majority grows. So it depends on how you look at it. But it is true that we do not yet have an agreement on these measures
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen suggested that the EU could take certain measures to circumvent the veto of some member states.
We need to work and think more innovatively about what the next best solutions might be. For example, we want to ban imports from the occupied territories. This is probably not possible. But then we could introduce a high tariff on imports, and we could do that with a qualified majority
Rasmussen also rejected Israel's claims that restricting free trade with Israel would strengthen Hamas.
I think it's important that we challenge false narratives. And I want to say that we absolutely have no intention of strengthening Hamas, quite the opposite
Kallas argued that the EU has successfully pressured Israel to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, leading to an increase in the number of trucks entering the area and the opening of more border crossings.
Also at the meeting, the bloc adopted a document calling on the US to lift the ban on the entry of a Palestinian delegation participating in the United Nations General Assembly.
Kallas also noted that the European Union is exploring options for sanctions against cryptocurrency exchanges that help circumvent Russian sanctions. The bloc plans to impose new sanctions against Russia next week in response to Moscow's increased bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine.
Many other ideas have been proposed, for example, funding institutions, as well as how our British colleagues mentioned what they did. We will explore these possibilities. Cryptocurrencies are possible, although I don't know if it's possible in practice
Addition
The Israeli army declared Gaza City a "dangerous combat zone," canceling a local tactical pause that had been in effect since late July. This decision was made amid plans for a large-scale operation against Hamas.