EU rejects 'any attempt of demographic or territorial change in Gaza Strip'

EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski following an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Warsaw, Kallas said: “The majority of European countries agreed that the situation in Gaza is untenable and rapidly deteriorating, and these plans to intensify military operation in Gaza will lead to further suffering of civilian population.”

“And we also reject any attempt of demographic or territorial changes in Gaza Strip, as well as forced displacement of Palestinian population, we urge Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza immediately and ensure that the humanitarian aid reaches the people who are in need,” she added.

Noting that the bloc is urging Israel to immediately lift the blockade of Gaza and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, she emphasized that such aid must adhere to the core principles of humanitarian action, which are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

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Her comments were in response to Israel’s new plan for delivering aid to Gaza, which has elicited strong reactions from the international community.

Answering a question about French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks earlier this week that he would urge the EU to end sanctions on Syria when they come up for renewal in June, Kallas said: “We have currently ongoing discussions about sanctions relief on Syria, and I was happy to read that actually, President Macron is in favor of relief of sanctions, so I hope that also goes to the working level.”

“I personally believe that when there is a new government, a new regime, in this case, which is saying the right thing, the rational thing to do is to make a positive opening move and then see what the other side does,” she added.

Regarding the developments in the Ukraine conflict, Kallas claimed that “Russia shows no signs of wanting peace.”

“What we have to do is put more pressure on Russia so that Russia would also want peace, because we know that Ukraine already agreed to an unconditional ceasefire over 50 days ago, and we also have to support Ukraine so that they can defend themselves,” she said.

Kallas revealed that the bloc is working on its 17th sanctions package to further cripple Russia’s economy.

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