Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom on Saturday expressed serious concern over the recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemned hostile actions taken by the two countries against each other
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2023) Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom on Saturday expressed serious concern over the recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemned hostile actions taken by the two countries against each other.
"France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, express their grave concern in the face of the continuing, growing violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. We strongly condemn recent terrorist attacks that killed Israeli citizens ... We also strongly condemn indiscriminate violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, including destruction of homes and properties," a joint statement published by the German Foreign Ministry read.
The EU countries urged Palestine and Israel to stop all unilateral actions threatening peace in the region, while also saying that all those responsible must be held fully accountable and brought to justice.
The statement also called on the parties to the conflict to refrain from disrupting the fragile de-escalation process and to fulfill the commitments made at an emergency meeting held by delegations from Jordan, Palestine, the United States, Israel, and Egypt in the Jordanian city of Aqaba in late February in an attempt to reduce tensions in the West Bank.
"We urge the Israeli government to reverse its recent decision to advance the construction of more than 7,000 settlement building units across the occupied West Bank and to legalize settlement outposts," the statement added.
New clashes in the West Bank between Palestinians and Jewish settlers coincided with the convening of the high-level meeting in Aqaba. After the meeting, Israel pledged to suspend settlement activity in the West Bank for several months. Representatives of the five countries agreed to meet again in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh in March.
Since the beginning of 2023, the situation in the West Bank, especially in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, has become much more complicated due to ongoing raids by the Israeli armed forces against the Palestinians. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has said that January and February 2023 saw the highest number of Palestinians killed since 2000.
