Israel / Palestine

Israel's siege of Gaza is illegal the EU's top diplomat has said, while insisting that European aid to Palestine will keep flowing.

The move comes amid stepped-up international efforts by Egypt and the UN to defuse tensions and prevent a new round of armed conflict in the enclave.

Almost 50 foreign ministers from Europe and the Middle East met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week to unveil a new initiative. The initiative aims to revive the long-dormant peace process between Israel and Palestine. The EU is co-leading alongside Saudi Arabia, the Arab League, Jordan and Egypt.

More than 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis have been killed so far this year in demonstrations, clashes, military operations, attacks and other incidents, which already surpasses last year’s death toll, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said in a briefing to the Security Council on Monday.

The UN chief addressed the escalating loss of life in Israel and Palestine on Thursday, voicing strong condemnation for all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror. “Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp were the worst violence in the West Bank in many years,” said António Guterres, referring to the two-day-long military assault in Jenin, which began on Monday morning, involving the use of airstrikes and missiles fired from drones.

The Israeli army has withdrawn its troops from the refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli officials said early on Wednesday. … The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the two-day-operation — the largest in the West Bank in around two decades — targeted militants based in the Jenin refugee camp.

Unless decisive steps are swiftly taken to rein in Israeli-Palestinian violence, there is a “significant risk” that the situation could deteriorate, the top UN Middle East official told the Security Council on Tuesday.

The West Bank is witnessing some of the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in years. It’s an explosive mix, observers say, as the Palestinian Authority appears unable to rein in militants while the Israeli military is doing little or nothing to stop attacks by extremist Jewish settlers.

[…] The EU Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah) and the EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) have both been extended for one year until 30 June 2024, with the possibility of extending for an additional year.

The UN’s Middle East envoy said on Tuesday he was “deeply alarmed” at the continuing cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine, and “appalled by the continued loss of civilian lives.”