|
World Jewish News
'No end to Gaza till Schalit freed'
22.01.2009
"As long as Gilad Schalit remains in the hands of Hamas, it will be impossible to solve the crisis in the Gaza Strip," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her counterparts at the European Union in Brussles on Wednesday night.
Livni said she convinced the Europeans that having a "durable and sustainable cease-fire also means a full cessation of the smuggling of weapons" into Gaza. She said that she and the Europeans reached "an understanding" that it is important that the smuggling of weapons into Gaza be stopped.
She said she regretted the loss of civilian lives in Gaza but blamed Hamas for operating from highly populated areas. She called the war against Hamas a "war against terror, not against Palestinians."
Karel Schwarzenberg, the Czech foreign minister and the meeting's chairman, said at a joint news conference after the three-hour meeting that Livni reassured the EU of Israel's commitment to "effective humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip."
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the talks produced a "strong" discussion at which the Europeans insisted Israel must make it possible for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the stricken Gaza are.
"It's absolutely necessary to say we need to open the borders. We [the 27 EU nations] were all united in that," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Officials said the EU is ready to send monitors back to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt provided the Gaza cease-fire is maintained.
That mission began in 2005 and oversaw the crossing of 444,000 people during an 18-month period. It was suspended in June 2007 after Hamas seized control of Gaza.
Egypt has largely kept the crossing closed since Hamas seized power.
The EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels with their counterparts from Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority on Sunday.
Israel is hoping for a deal committing the EU to contribute forces, ships and technology to anti-smuggling operations. EU officials said it was too early for that, saying providing humanitarian relief and efforts to secure a lasting cease-fire were their priorities.
Источник: JPost
|
|
