"It's time for sanctions against Israel, the bombing is inhumane." While committing war crimes in Gaza, Israel ignores the international request for a cease-fire," said Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Suter, as reported by "Politico".
She called for an "urgent" suspension of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel and suggested that Belgium allocate additional funds to the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes by Israel and Hamas.
She emphasized that people and companies that supply money to Hamas must be sanctioned, but also that violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, politicians and military figures responsible for war crimes should face a ban on entry into the EU.
"Israeli bombing increases the utter hopelessness of Palestinians." "Without a real solution, violence will continue to be repeated, and that's why a political solution that recognizes Palestine as a state is necessary," she pointed out.
De Suter's statement came two days after Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croix said Israel's actions in Gaza were "no longer proportionate".
Earlier this week, Belgian Environment Minister Zakia Katabi came under fire for refusing to label Hamas a "terrorist organization", despite being labeled as such by the European Union.
The EU, just like the US, still officially supports "Israel's right to defend itself", but there is growing pressure to suspend hostilities, at least temporarily, due to the increasing number of civilian casualties and the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Authority claims that more than 10.000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, that almost half of the victims are children, that there are around 25.000 wounded and injured, that hospitals are on the verge of collapse, that there are not enough medical supplies, water, or food, that hundreds thousands of people have no roof over their heads.
Israel denies the accusations
Tel Aviv casts doubt on the number of casualties reported by the Gaza health authority "which is controlled by Hamas". He accuses this Palestinian terrorist organization, which "uses people as human shields and does not allow them to evacuate from combat zones," for the greater number of civilian victims. Lawyers of the Israeli army claim that civilian objects that are misused for war purposes become a legitimate target, and that the military command and Hamas terrorists are hiding in hospitals, schools, refugee camps, that they dug bunkers and tunnels under civilian objects.
Israel emphasizes that it did not start this war, but Hamas, and that the military actions are not directed against the Palestinians, but against this terrorist organization.
The Israelis' condition for the ceasefire is that Hamas releases all 240 hostages, and Hamas's condition for releasing the hostages is that Israel cease hostilities.
Israeli ground troops have surrounded Gaza City and are "clearing the ground" of terrorists. The intensity of air strikes does not decrease. Hamas is believed to have built a system of underground passageways hundreds of kilometers long that the Israelis call "the largest terrorist base in the world."
JH/FoNet
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