Brussels, 16/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - “Deeply concerned by the escalation of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip”, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton condemned, on Friday 16 November, the rocket attacks and urged Israel to ensure that “its response it proportionate”. “The rocket attacks by Hamas and other factions in Gaza which began this current crisis are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop. Israel has the right to protect its population from these kinds of attacks”, she said in a press release, two days after having refused to comment in Egypt. She hoped that Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, during his visit to Gaza the same day, would have been able to calm the situation.
Ashton spoke of the fresh outbreak of violence in the Middle East with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the office of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. She said that she had stressed “the need to prevent a further escalation and more loss of life”, adding that she had also made the point that they must move forward in finding a solution to the conflict.
The previous day President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz had condemned the escalation in violence between Israel and Hamas. He had called on the two parties to show the utmost restraint as well as avoiding all loss of human life, and he called for the hostilities to cease immediately. He deplored the fact that the civilians of the two sides are paying the highest price in the vicious circle of attacks and reprisals. He also called on the two parties to abstain from all bellicose and counter-productive rhetoric and to return to the negotiating table. Since Tuesday, the violence has claimed over 20 lives - Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli raids as part of the attacks targeting the military wing of Hamas, and Israelis struck by Palestinian rocket fire. (CG/transl.fl)