Borrell asks not to transform Lebanon “into a new Gaza” and MEPs accuse Hezbollah of holding the entire country “hostage”

2024-10-08 11:15:49

The escalation in the Middle East is of great concern to the European Union, with the region on the brink of all-out war. This is what MEPs talked about in the plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday. together with High Representative Josep Borrell. When a year has passed since the war between Israel and Hamas, tension is growing with each passing week and the head of European diplomacy has taken it upon himself to remember that “There are no military solutions to deeply rooted conflicts” and now there is a risk of transforming Lebanon “into a new Gaza”.

To avoid this spiral, Borrell said, UN intervention is necessary, but he also pointed the finger directly at Israel. “He invaded Lebanon three times, this would be the fourth. After each invasion you have to ask yourself if your security increased or if they were tactical victories but strategic defeats,” he commented, underlining the fact that Israel’s security will be compromised if the escalation continues, an idea he had already raised in his interview with 20 minutes.

At that point he recalled the invasions of 1978, 1982 and 2006. “I don’t know, history shows that there are no military solutions to conflicts deeply rooted in the structures of a region“, he explained, recalling the numbers of deaths and displaced persons, with one eye on Palestine, another on Lebanon and the tension at the highest levels following Iran’s response. “It is the moment of truth for Europe” in his role in the Eastern Middle East, reflected the Spanish leader.

In the MEPs’ response, Nicolás Pascual del Partido (PP), called for the European Union to “redouble its political and diplomatic efforts in Lebanon to try to contain this escalation of war. triggered a year ago with Hamas attacks on Israel, with an imminent ceasefire“. On the other hand, more in the medium term, and for when the weapons fall, the MEP called for a strategy to be established for the country. “It cannot be that a group recognized as terrorist by the EU holds an entire hostage country,” he said.

Following recent Israeli army attacks against senior Hezbollah commanders on Lebanese soil, the armed conflict between the State of Israel and Hezbollah is expected to expand, opening a new front in the Middle East dispute. Iran’s direct attack on Israel in the October 1 conflict carries a greater risk of escalating the conflict into a regional war, and therefore “The EU must provide and update all necessary humanitarian aid.”

For her part, Hana Jalloul was very direct and emphasized humanitarian aid, in addition to the ceasefire. Naturally she was very critical of the role of the Israeli government. “The Netanyahu government has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, in addition to the 42,000 murdered in Gaza and the West Bank.. The situation is very serious. The war already involves six countries in the Middle East and Israel remains unpunished“, summed up the socialist MEP before the plenary session.

“After 41,000 lives lost in Gaza, how many more deaths will there have to be for the EU to respond with one voice in the Middle East? The birth of Palestine as a state is the only solution to achieve peace, security and progress”, concluded the leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Iratxe García.