The Danish Foreign Minister calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of more aid to civilians.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told DR ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday: “The shortage of emergency aid, food and water in Gaza is so great that a change of course and a ceasefire are needed.”.
During the meeting, the Danish Foreign Minister gave priority to "highlighting the ceasefire and providing additional emergency aid to civilians.".
Ahead of today's meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reiterated his message from last week that Israel is using starvation as a weapon in the Gaza Strip: “We are no longer on the brink of famine in Gaza; it is already underway and it is man-made. It is unacceptable. Starvation is being used as a weapon.” Speaking at the meeting's opening press conference, Borrell said, according to Reuters, that Israel is deliberately creating famine. Before the war, Gaza was the world's largest open-air prison. Now, according to Borrell, it is the world's largest open-air graveyard.
The European Union will “soon” impose sanctions on Hamas and violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said after a meeting in Brussels on Monday. EU foreign ministers were expected to finally agree to the sanctions, but the meeting did not reach a consensus. “We had a good discussion, and we also found a solution. We already have a strong sanctions regime against Hamas, and this needs to be strengthened further in light of the attacks on October 7. This will happen,” Rasmussen said. “There is also an understanding that, in line with the United States, we also have to do something regarding the Israeli settlers,” he added.
Amid international attention on Gaza and Hamas, Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked Palestinians in the West Bank. The United States and the United Kingdom have already imposed sanctions, while the European Union is more divided. Some EU member states have insisted on sanctions against Hamas before sanctions against Israeli settlers. Therefore, the expectation in Brussels before the meeting was that only the sanctions against Hamas announced on Monday would be announced if ministers reached an agreement. This would signal that the EU primarily condemns Hamas, which is already on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. Instead, the two sets of sanctions will now have to wait a little longer before a final agreement is reached among the 27 EU member states.
