The decision of the Hague Court to order Israel to stop the attacks on Rafah has not stopped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but is destined to increase international pressure, starting with the EU, for a truce in Gaza. On a diplomatic level, after weeks of stalemate, something is moving again. In Paris, in a meeting between the director of the CIA Bill Burns, the head of the Mossad, David Barnea and the Prime Minister of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani agreed to resume negotiations next week.
In Brussels, in the next few hours, the Middle Eastern dossier will return to the foreground in a series of talks between the EU and European foreign ministers and representatives of the Arab countries, starting with the Prime Minister of Palestine Mohammed Mustafa who stopped in Rome today . On the ground, the order of the International Court of Justice had no effect. Rafah woke up under attack. The raids caused at least two deaths. In the afternoon, the northern city of Beit Hanoun was hit by bombs, with ten victims according to the Wafa agency.
Al Jazeera reported other raids in northern Gaza: a school hosting displaced people was targeted. Ten were killed, updating a calculation which, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, is close to 36 thousand victims. What made the flow of aid to Gaza more complex was the rough seas. Four American ships supporting the temporary pier built to assist Palestinians have run aground due to bad weather conditions. «No Americans will enter Gaza. No injuries have been reported and the pier remains fully functional”, assured the US Central Command (Centcom). It is from Europe, however, that a new glimmer of hope arrives for talks on the hostages and a ceasefire, also in view of the intergovernmental summit between France and Germany which will begin on Sunday. The talks in Paris between the head of the CIA, the number one of the Mossad and the Qatari mediators established the resumption of negotiations “on the basis of new proposals” and after an interruption that had lasted since the end of April. The talks will be led by Egyptian and Doha mediators “with the active involvement of the US”, Axios noted, citing an Israeli official.
The issue could be at the center of the new war cabinet convened by Netanyahu for Sunday afternoon. The resumption of talks comes at a delicate time for the Israeli government’s international position. On Monday, the meeting of European foreign ministers could end with a greater push from the EU on the truce and on the need for Israel to respect the Hague’s decision. «The choice is support for the rule of law or for the Israeli offensive»; High Representative Josep Borrell explained to State of Union in Florence. The Foreign Ministers of the Arab countries and the Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa are arriving in Brussels. The latter, on Sunday, will see the holder of the Iberian diplomacy Jose Manuel Albares. Spain, Ireland and Norway will formalize their recognition of the state of Palestine on Tuesday in a historic step that could be followed by other EU member states. “Israel must respect the order of the Hague Court,” Albares underlined. Her defense colleague, Margarita Robles, was clearly harsher: “There is a real genocide taking place in Gaza.” Berlin, with vice chancellor Robert Habeck, remarked that “the attacks on Rafah are illicit”, showing how the Hague’s decision could also have effects on those who, up to now, in the EU have strenuously defended the Israeli offensive.
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