With each passing day, the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens – starting with the hospitals – and at the same time, support for Israel fades, criticism increases in tone, and allies and declared enemies converge on Tel Aviv’s need to halt military operations . The French president asked the Israelis to stop bombing, hours before the French capital, as well as the Belgian and English capitals, were the scene of massive demonstrations demanding an end to hostilities and the creation of the state of Palestine. It will come as no surprise that these were also the conclusions of an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, which brought together heads of state and government from Islamic and Arab countries.
In an interview with the BBC, Emmanuel Macron reiterated France’s support for Israel. The head of state recognized that country’s right to protect itself and never failed to condemn Hamas’ terrorist actions. He said “there is no justification” for the attacks on the Gaza Strip, and therefore urged Israelis to “stop these bombings.” Without wanting to enter into legal discussions about possible war crimes, Macron stated: “In fact, civilians are being bombed today. These babies, these ladies, these elderly people are being bombed and murdered. There is no reason for this and there is no legitimacy. That is why we urge Israel to stop.”
Macron’s interview took place during France’s annual peace initiative, the Paris Peace Forum, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted in India that Israel’s strategy to fight Hamas was “killing too many Palestinians”. To the French president’s comments, the Israeli prime minister quickly responded: “The crimes that Hamas is committing today in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York and anywhere else in the world,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Allied reparations were also heard in Tel Aviv. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, along with her counterpart Eli Cohen, said Israel “must respect international humanitarian law and the obligation to distinguish between civilian and military objectives.” Moreover, he reiterated the sense of urgency of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. But he also pointed to the West Bank, which “must not be caught up in this whirlwind of violence,” he warned. Israeli authorities have carried out military operations in the area, killing around 180 Palestinians.
Tension in London
On the streets of Europe, hundreds of thousands showed their opposition to the Israeli military operation. The largest demonstration took place in London, with 300,000 people taking part, according to police. Tensions were high because the government did not want the commemoration of the First World War Armistice to coincide with the pro-Palestinian march. But the police chief said there were no grounds to ban it, and in response, Interior Minister Suella Braverman signed an article in The Times criticizing the police under her watch and the participants in the previous demonstrations (which passed peacefully). said that in those ‘crowds’ full of ‘hate demonstrators’ and ‘Islamists’ there are terrorist sympathizers.
Coincidence or not, there was a counter-demonstration from the extreme right, which became involved in disturbances with the police, who arrested about a hundred people. Ultimately, Sunak condemned the ‘unacceptable scenes’ on the streets of London. “This applies to the English Defense League thugs who attacked police officers and stormed the Cenotaph, and it also applies to those who chanted anti-Semitic chants and waved pro-Hamas posters and clothing during the protest,” he responded.
“Stop the carnage in Gaza and the West Bank. Immediate ceasefire,” was the message on the banner that opened the demonstration in Paris, which was called for by both left-wing and far-left parties and associations. It would have been the largest pro-Palestinian gathering in France in solidarity with the Palestinians since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. The demonstrations were initially banned by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, citing the danger of public disorder and associated anti-Semitism, but a higher court said permission or ban should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. base.
In Brussels, police counted more than 20,000 participants in the so-called European march on Palestine, in which they called on the European Union and its member states to demand an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.
Other protests took place in Edinburgh, Barcelona, Santander or Pamplona.
United Front
At a meeting in the capital of Saudi Arabia, leaders of Arab and Muslim countries – including Ebrahim Raisi, during what was the first visit by an Iranian president to Riyadh in 11 years – signed a statement in which they “refuse to characterize this war as self-defense or to justify it under any pretext.” The countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League are demanding an immediate end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, increased humanitarian aid and guarantees that Israel will be held accountable for its crimes.
The statement states that the only path to peace is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, but to achieve this an international peace conference must first be held to establish a “credible process based on international law” to get going. “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory”.
In northern Gaza, which the Israeli army says has emptied 200,000 people in the past three days, the largest hospital has run out of power or fuel, while 39 babies are in incubators and at least two premature babies have died, Israel said. army. Israeli NGO Doctors for Human Rights. Israeli forces said they would help transfer the babies to another unit and denied they were targeting anyone leaving Al-Shifa.
Source: DN
