The European Union yesterday called for an immediate end to Israel's military operations in Gaza and said a unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian territory could not be a substitute for a two-state political solution. Foreign ministers of the 25-member bloc also mandated EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to implement plans which he outlined to them on a possible EU approach to the Middle East. "[The EU] condemns the disproportionate nature of Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip," they said in a statement.
| "Yeah! Just because they kill a few of you, that don't mean you should kill a lot of them!" |
Meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself against missile attacks but said "these actions have claimed the lives of many innocent civilians, including children, and left many injured". Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed yesterday to put his plan to withdraw from Gaza, opposed by right-wingers, to a parliamentary vote on October 25.
| "We're leaving, and you can't make us stay!" |
EU ministers stressed that any withdrawal from Gaza could not replace a two-state solution for the Middle East conflict as foreseen in the so-called "road kill map" for peace drafted by the United States, the United Nations, the EU and Russia. The ministers added that the EU would not recognise any changes to the borders as they were before the 1967 Middle East war when Israel invaded the Palestinian territories unless both sides agreed to amend them. Mr Solana gave no details of his Middle East strategy proposals but said he would present them to EU foreign ministers when they next met on November 2, and added that they would not deviate from the road map. "Nothing will take us away from the road map. That is a fundamental matter," he told a news briefing. |