Baerbock: "The situation is tearing us apart"
While the EU calls for an "immediate" pause in fighting, the Gaza war continues unabated. Foreign Minister Baerbock takes a bleak view of the current situation and believes that progress can only be made in small steps. A ceasefire is currently not an option.
Following her latest crisis talks in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed her extreme pessimism about the Gaza war and the prospects for the future. "The situation in the region is at breaking point. The rifts seem to be getting deeper", said the Green politician on the fringes of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. You can feel the desperation in all places. People were suffering both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as well as in Israel.
"The bitter reality is that we are only making the smallest of steps forward." Commenting on the ongoing calls for a ceasefire, Baerbock said: "I totally understand the impulse in this terrible situation, where innocent children, people, women, mothers and families are not only suffering so terribly, but are dying". But impulses are not enough to help people.
Those who demand such things must also answer questions. For example, the question of how Israel's security could be guaranteed and what would happen to the Hamas hostages. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also previously rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire or a longer pause in fighting.
Baerbock cited ceasefires as the only possible option at the moment in order to allow humanitarian aid for civilians in need. "We need breaks where the children who are sitting apathetically in the rubble of their homes in Gaza because their parents are buried under the rubble can actually be reached." Baerbock said that this policy of sometimes very small steps was the only way to stem the suffering in the situation and then, in the next steps, to ensure that Israelis and Palestinians could really live in peace and security in future.
EU wants "immediate pause in fighting"
During her most recent trip to the region, Baerbock visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and Israel on Friday and Saturday. In addition to the humanitarian situation of civilians in the Gaza Strip, she also discussed the situation of hostages in the hands of Hamas and the search for a peace solution.
Meanwhile, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, emphasized in Brussels that the urgently needed ceasefires must be "meaningful". They must allow humanitarian aid workers to do their work in safety. "This has not been the case so far", he criticized with regard to Israel. Fuel was particularly urgent so that the hospitals in the Gaza Strip could continue to work.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell urged the rapid delivery of water, fuel and food aid. He had previously stated on behalf of the 27 member states that the EU supports the calls for an "immediate" pause in fighting and the "establishment of humanitarian corridors" to supply the population of the Gaza Strip.
Baerbock highlighted the plight of Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as Israelis, expressing her concern about the deepening rifts in the region. She acknowledged the desire for a ceasefire but stressed that impulses alone aren't sufficient, raising questions about Israel's security and the fate of Hamas hostages.
The EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, emphasized the need for "meaningful" ceasefires in the Gaza Strip, allowing humanitarian aid workers to operate safely. He criticized the situation, pointing out the urgent need for fuel for Gaza's hospitals.
Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, urged the rapid delivery of essential supplies such as water, fuel, and food to the population of the Gaza Strip. He echoed the EU's support for an "immediate" pause in fighting and the establishment of humanitarian corridors.
In her visit to the Middle East, Baerbock discussed the humanitarian situation of civilians in the Gaza Strip, the situation of Hamas hostages, and the pursuit of a peace solution with various leaders, including those in the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Source: www.ntv.de
