Despite divisions, EU leaders to urge pauses in Gaza bombing to get aid in
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File PhotoBRUSSELS -EU leaders were poised on Thursday to call for pauses in Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket attacks to get humanitarian aid into Gaza after days of wrangling that highlighted divisions within the bloc over the broader Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"Israel is a democratic state guided by very humanitarian principles and so we can be certain that the Israeli army will respect the rules that arise from international law in everything it does," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz."I have no doubt about that." Israel insists it is acting within international law and that its attacks are intended to destroy Hamas, which operates among the civilian population.
Ahead of the summit, diplomats spent days debating whether to call for a"humanitarian pause" or"pauses". Countries such as France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Ireland had endorsed calls from the United Nations for a break in the conflict for humanitarian reasons. While the EU's influence on the conflict is modest, the bloc fears that an escalation could have grave consequences for Europe, including a rise in tensions between communities, possible Islamist militant attacks and a flow of refugees.
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