Brussels 14.11.2023 “… There were intense contacts between the Member States, in particular after the holding in Paris of the conference called by France to collect humanitarian aid for Gaza and the statements made by the President of the French Republic [Emmanuel Macron]. , several Member States asked me to launch a new attempt to approve a “statement” – a communiqué – that could be adopted by the 27 Member States” the top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said, while concluding the meeting of the bloc foreign ministers in Brussels on November 13.

“We did so and in the end we achieved a common position, which evaluated the humanitarian situation and requested, and this is the new thing, “Immediate humanitarian pauses in hostilities and the opening of humanitarian corridors.” What is new is “immediate”, because the call for “pauses” – in plural – was already made by the European Council, and was made again by the G7.

“What is new is that, given the humanitarian situation, it is determined that these “humanitarian pauses” are urgent, and must be opened immediately, the statement says, as well as the need to open humanitarian corridors to provide assistance to civilians in Gaza.

“For this we have had the presence today of Commissioner [for Crisis Management, Janez] Lenarčič, the Commissioner in charge of humanitarian aid, who explained to us – in short, what everyone knows from the press reports, but from a more technical point of view – on the consequences of the intense bombings in Gaza that have caused a death toll that now exceeds 11,000, among whom there is a high proportion of women and children. At the same time, there is a serious lack of the most basic means, from water to medicine and food.

“There are one and a half million displaced people inside Gaza, and more are moving from the north to the south, following directions from the Israeli military.

“But there are still hundreds of thousands in the northern part of Gaza where humanitarian aid is harder to reach. Some help has come in, the Commissioner [Janez Lenarčič] has explained to us and [it] we know, but we are talking about the order of 40 trucks a day on average, from the Rafah crossing, which is very little compared to [up to] 500 trucks a day that passed before the war.

“The United Nations has warned of the lack of food that represents less than 10% of what is needed. And, above all, what is worrying is the situation in hospitals. Many of them have collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing. 20 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization, have stopped working, and without fuel it is impossible for them to do so because this prevents the distribution of clean water and electricity.

“Faced with this, the European Commission, the European Union, has reacted by increasing humanitarian aid. The president [of the European Commission, Ursula] von der Leyen has shown extraordinary concern for the fate of the Gazaries, and she has increased – we have increased, it is the community budget that finances it – up to € 100 million our aid.

“But of course, help has to come. There is no point in piling up trucks at the border if they cannot enter inside. Our “humanitarian air bridge” still continues to operate to the landing fields near the border, loaded with medicine, sanitary items, food – but they are waiting to enter Gaza.

“This humanitarian situation is what was taken into consideration, and in particular that of the hospitals, by the Member States when they approved the communication that was made public yesterday, also expressing our concern about the use of civilians as a human shield against the bombings.

“The Rafah crossing is clearly not sufficient to allow the necessary number of trucks to pass through. Traffic capacity must be increased. And that can be done either by opening more land posts – those that exist are closed – or by developing the Cypriot initiative to create a maritime corridor.

“But on the coast of Gaza, there are no ports. And in order to land aid, floating ports would have to be built. And that is what is being carefully studied at the moment to make this initiative viable.

“Of course, yesterday we also demanded the release of the hostages. Of course, yesterday we also insisted on the need for the unconditional release of these people, and for the Red Cross to have access to them. This has been the point discussed from the point of view of our communication yesterday.

“The second is to try to avoid the escalation of the conflict and its extension to other geographical areas neighboring Israel. We continue to send messages to all relevant actors to prevent this escalation, in particular to Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

“But after this we have to look towards a solution in the medium and long term. A “post-conflict” solution. How to ensure permanent stabilization that allows building the

“But after this we have to look towards a solution in the medium and long term. A “post-conflict” solution. How to ensure permanent stabilization that allows peace to be built between Palestinians and Israel and in the region as a whole?

“This dramatic crisis, with its very high cost in terms of Israeli and Palestinian human lives, shows the political and moral failure of the international community in failing to find a solution to this conflict. This tragedy should be an occasion for everyone to understand that a solution must be sought that can only be based on the construction of two States.

“It is not just about rebuilding Gaza – we have already done this several times – but about building a state for the Palestinians. And that requires addressing what is called the “day after,” although the Arab States do not want to talk about the day after, they want to talk about today. At their meeting in Riyadh, it is evident that we have to look for some parameters to start working towards a solution that promotes peace.

“I have proposed to the ministers today a mental scheme, a “framework”, which involves establishing some conditions. And I think that the ministers have agreed to support this approach, which we will have to work on immediately in collaboration with the United States and the Arab States, without a doubt.

“I would summarize it in three “yeses” and three “noes”.

“The three “noes” are, first, that there cannot be a forced displacement of the Palestinian people out of Gaza. There cannot be an expulsion of Palestinians to be welcomed in other countries. No forced displacement of Palestinian people out of Gaza.

“The second is that the territory of Gaza cannot be reduced. In other words, there can be no reoccupation of Gaza by Israel. No territorial change or reduction of Gaza territory. No to the re-occupation by Israeli Defense Forces in a permanent situation of Gaza. No to the return of Hamas to Gaza either.

“And the third is, that Gaza cannot be dissociated from the overall Palestinian issue. The solution for Gaza has to be framed in the solution given to the Palestinian problem as a whole.

“And the three “yeses” try to find the actors who must commit to finding solutions. The first is that we believe that a Palestinian Authority must return to Gaza. I am saying one Palestinian authority, not “the” Palestinian Authority. A Palestinian authority whose terms of reference and whose legitimacy must be defined and decided by the [United Nations] Security Council.

“But this authority will have to be strongly supported. And this is the second yes. Yes to a stronger involvement of the Arab countries on the look[out] for a solution. I know that now the Arab States tell us that they do not want to talk about the “day after”, because they are focused on the “today”, on the drama that is being experienced today. But there will be no solution without a strong commitment from the Arab States that do not It can be simply financial. It cannot simply be paying for physical reconstruction but contributing politically to the construction of the Palestinian state.

“The third yes is a greater commitment of the European Union in the region [and] in particular, in the construction of the Palestinian State. We have been too absent from the solution to this problem that we have delegated to the United States. But now Europe has to commit more. You have to commit more because otherwise, if a solution is not found now, we will live a cycle of violence that will be perpetuated from generation to generation, from funeral to funeral.

“To contribute to this political dynamic, the day after tomorrow I will begin a visit to Israel, Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. So much for the first point”…