The European Union’s top diplomat condemns the shooting by Israeli forces
The highest diplomatic officer of the European Union, Josep Borrell, this Saturday labeled as unjustifiable the shots fired by Israeli forces against a multitude of Palestinian civilians during a distribution of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza on Thursday. Borrell has expressed his concern for the victims of the Israeli Army shootings and the resulting human stampede to get products.
Demand for an impartial investigation
Borrell has called for an impartial investigation of this tragic event to obtain a clear picture of what happened. He emphasized that it is unjustifiable for Israeli soldiers to open fire on civilians who were trying to get food.
The response of the Israeli Army
The Israeli Army has confirmed that its forces opened fire on the crowd in a self-defense maneuver, causing 10 direct casualties. According to Israel, the rest of the casualties occurred because of the chaos there.
Shared responsibility
Borrell pointed out that the responsibility lies both in the restrictions imposed by the Israeli Army and in the obstructions of the violent extremists to the supply of humanitarian aid. He stressed that restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid contribute to creating shortages, hunger and disease, as well as a level of desperation that ends up translating into violence.
The position of the European Union
Borrell recalled that the EU has condemned the attacks by Hamas against Israel and sees this position as compatible with the need for Israel to preserve a minimum of order and security in order to maintain a humanitarian space in Gaza. He condemned Israeli restrictions on aid inflows and called on the Israeli Government to cooperate fully with UN agencies and other humanitarian actors to facilitate a direct humanitarian corridor with Jordan.
The current situation
Borrell described this incident as very serious and emphasized the need to take measures to avoid similar situations in the future. He expressed his concern about the humanitarian consequences of the restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza.