Debate: War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region
Date: TUESDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2024
Speaker: Janez Lenarčič
Language: EN

Now let’s look at those orders – but let’s say one of them, just for illustration. There was this order that was already mentioned by some of the Members: ‘Order to Israel to take immediate and effective measures’ – immediate and effective measures – ‘to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip’. End of quote.  Well, if anything, now, today, one month later, these adverse conditions of life are even more adverse than they were at the time of these orders. Pockets of famine have appeared in Gaza. Hunger is so prevalent, and people are so desperate, that orderly distribution of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza, for instance, is no longer possible. And some of our partners already stopped the provision of food to northern Gaza.  Attacks on United Nations and on humanitarian workers in general continue. There have been so far 161 UN staff killed since 7 October. There have been 378 attacks on healthcare, including 98 attacks on ambulances. These are quite unprecedented numbers.  We also note the extensive denials of access for humanitarian missions into Gaza. We also note the increasing difficulties that UN humanitarian workers face in obtaining visas and other permits. Access to Gaza definitely is worse this month, February, than it was in December or January. Much fewer trucks have been getting through this month.  So yes, there is an urgent need for the end to fighting, and this is what 26 Member States have called for, because this would allow for a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza and throughout it. Let me recall that the last and, so far, the only humanitarian pause, was agreed back in November last year.  The EU is not sitting on its hands. It is doing all it can. The EU has allocated more than EUR 200 million for humanitarian aid since 7 October, and we are now in the process of rolling out our EUR 125 million heavy humanitarian funding for this year, for Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories in general. We also continue our in-kind support. By now we have organised 40 flights of EU Humanitarian Air Bridge, bringing 1 700 tonnes of in-kind assistance for the Palestinians in Gaza.  We have been all along in touch with our Israeli counterparts advocating the respect for international humanitarian law, calling for protection of civilians, calling for respect of some of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, like the principle of ‘proportionality’ and ‘distinction’ – distinction between combatants and civilians. We have been calling for opening of additional crossing points and so on, and so on. My next point is about UNRWA. No, we have not received any evidence supporting the allegations by Israel that UNWRA’s staff were involved in the terrible events on 7 October, and to our knowledge, none of the donors – other donors – have received any evidence. But at any rate, at any rate, as I said in my introduction, there has to be, at the end of the day, individual accountability for any violation of the principle of neutrality of UNRWA. And there must not be collective punishment. This is not the answer.  Yes, UNRWA is irreplaceable. Who’s saying that? Let me tell you who is saying that. All other UN agencies, active and present in the Gaza Strip are saying that to us. The International Committee of the Red Cross is saying that to us, the entire International Red Cross and Red Crescent family is saying that to us, and so do the international non-governmental organisations who are present in the Gaza Strip in these very difficult circumstances. All of them are telling us, ‘No, we cannot possibly take over the role of UNRWA’. All of them.  Now, how to go ahead? Certainly, we support the investigation that has been launched by the UN Office for Internal Oversight Services. We support the launch of the Independent Review Group, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. We will follow very closely, we will expect full transparency on the part of UNRWA, and we will act accordingly. But let me recall again our statement – the Commission statement of the 29 January – in which we stated very clearly: the EU humanitarian aid will continue unabated.  Finally, in closing, I wish to repeat that we need to define credible prospects for peace in the Middle East. We must relaunch a political process for a two-state solution, and that is the only solution that can bring sustainable peace and security to the region. As I said in my introduction, a military solution does not exist.  We have developed ideas to advance the objective of this two-state solution, based on the Peace Day Effort, and on the support by the EU and others for holding an international peace conference soon. Because of the work we did prior to 7 October, we are now in a good central place to take this work further.  We are in close contact with our partners, including Arab states, to work together to that end, and even when one or more of the parties are not yet ready, we have to prepare. We have to prepare the substance of a peace deal. We have to elaborate not only how we would support peace, but also what could be a concrete, time-bound framework for the peace between Israel and Palestine.