Following the start of a new Israeli military operation in Gaza, Western countries have decided to increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, ahead of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on May 20, announced that the foreign ministers would discuss the possibility of reconsidering the community’s relations with Israel in the context of the serious humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave._
“Sweden will summon the Israeli ambassador to Stockholm for an explanation on the situation regarding humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip”, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday.
This move is part of growing international pressure on Israel.
PM Kristersson told the Swedish news agency. TT, that the European Union should impose sanctions against Israel and exert diplomatic pressure to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“We do not support what the Israeli government is currently doing by denying access to Gaza. Absolutely not,” he said.
“We have been perfectly clear on this issue, both individually and with many other European countries,” Kristersson told TT. “This pressure is now definitely intensifying, and there are good reasons for that,” he added.
The Swedish Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to Reuters that Kristersson had indeed made such a statement.
Previously, Great Britain, Canada, and France issued a stern warning, threatening sanctions if military action in Gaza continued and the blockade of humanitarian aid continued.
The reason was the Israeli army’s announcement of a new phase of operations and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements regarding his intention to take full control of the entire Gaza Strip.
“The refusal of the Government of Israel to allow access to essential humanitarian aid to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks violating international humanitarian law,” the three countries’ joint statement read.
The Israeli army declared the center of Khan Younis a combat zone, and airstrikes killed more than 60 people. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that the army “will wipe off the face of the earth whatever remains of Palestinian Gaza.”
Britain has already suspended negotiations with Israel on extending the trade deal. Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned Israeli ministers’ rhetoric about the “cleansing” of Gaza and the forced resettlement of Palestinians.
The European Union has launched a formal review of the trade deal with Israel. “We are launching this process, and for now, the decision belongs to Israel; it must release humanitarian aid,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot accused Israel of turning Gaza into a “death camp.” “The situation is unsustainable because the Israeli government’s indiscriminate violence and blockade of humanitarian aid have turned Gaza into a death camp, not to mention a cemetery… This must stop,” he declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has railed against Western leaders, accusing them of supporting Hamas.
In response, London and Paris have demanded that the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be “massive and unhindered
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