The president of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, has advocated removing the terrorist group Hamas from control of the Gaza Strip, developing a viable economy in the region, and preventing radicalization from growing, with a long-term vision of “two states”. “The solution is, one is Israeli and the other is Palestinian.
“Gaza cannot be a safe haven for terrorists,” van der Leyen told the annual conference of community ambassadors in Brussels. The head of the community administration reiterated that Israel has the right to defend itself within international law.
In that regard, van der Leyen expressed regret that “the death toll in Gaza and the suffering of civilians is tragic,” which is why Brussels announced an additional 25 million euros in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. A total of 100 million euros.
The European official avoided criticizing Israel’s military response, which he said should have been the EU’s “full solidarity” after “the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
However, Tel Aviv called on the German conservative to “try to avoid civilian casualties” in its attack on Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, and which is “clearly using Palestinian civilians and hostages as shields”. (afp, dpa, Reuters/mn, rml)
