Leaders hold extraordinary meeting to discuss crisis following chaotic week for EU foreign policy, amid reports of 500 dead in strike on hospital in Gaza
European Council president Charles Michel said on Tuesday that an attack against civilian infrastructure was not in line with international law. Photograph: John Thys/AFP via Getty ImagesEurope must be consistent in demanding respect for international law wherever conflicts occur in the world, European Council president Charles Michel said on Tuesday night after national leaders met for extraordinary talks on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“We all must stand up and defend peace, international law, and humanitarian law everywhere, everywhere in the world at all times,” Mr Michel said. “That is the rule of law.
The EU supported Israel’s right to defend itself within the bounds of international law, and was committed to working for a peaceful resolution of the conflict based on the foundation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, he said. They also co-ordinated on efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and evacuate foreign citizens from the narrow, embattled strip, where an estimated 1,000 EU citizens including 40 Irish people are thought to be trapped.
EU leaders discussed how to “defuse the tensions” that were affecting their own societies as a side-effect of the conflict and to co-operate to prevent security risks, he said.
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