“The guns must be silenced now and the voice diplomacy must speak and be heard by all. » This is how he summed up Joseph Borrell the conclusions of the emergency meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven held virtually this Monday to address the deterioration of the situation in Lebanon. The European Union has demanded a Immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and asked the government to Benjamin Netanyahu (of course, without naming him directly) to abandon his plan to lead a ground incursion into Lebanon.
“The firing of rockets and other projectiles by Hezbollah into Israeli territory must stop. The sovereignty of Israel and Lebanon must be guaranteed. And Any further military intervention would significantly worsen the situation and must be avoided. We are very concerned about the risk of a continued escalation of the conflict and we call on all parties in the region to exercise restraint in the interest of de-escalation,” warned the EU High Representative for foreign affairs and common security.
“The EU renews its call for a Immediate ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and calls on both parties to commit to fully and symmetrically implementing UN Security Council Resolution (2749), in order to ensure the safe return of displaced populations on both sides, within the framework of a broader negotiated agreement,” Borrell insisted.
[Israel bombardea el centro de Beirut por primera vez desde 2006 e Irán advierte: “Daremos una respuesta”]
The head of European diplomacy once again recognized the Israel’s right to defend itselfbut also insisted that this was “limited” by international humanitarian law. In this sense, Borrell alluded to the high number of civilian casualties and internally displaced people (up to a million people) in Lebanon, many of whom are fleeing to Syria. It is for this reason that he called to “seek a political solution and avoid increased militarization and a deepening of the conflict.”
The EU has pledged to redouble humanitarian aid to Lebanon to support displaced people, and also to ensure that the country’s armed forces regain their monopoly on violence. But the High Representative also called on Lebanese leaders to assume their responsibilities and work together to guarantee the functioning of the country’s institutionsstarting with the formation of a government and the election of a president.
Finally, Borrell highlighted the “fundamental role” of the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in which 650 Spanish soldiers work, to guarantee the “stability” of the country, and called on all parties to protect and support the UN soldiers. .
During her visit to Beirut last May, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a financial aid program for Lebanon of one billion euros from 2024 to 2027. The first tranche of 500 million Euros was initiated in August. At the same time, Brussels approved emergency humanitarian aid of 10 million last Sunday, bringing the total for 2024 to 74 million. Ministers pledged to study further increase in aid to the country.
