UK, Germany call for ceasefire, yet justify Israeli attacks
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The foreign ministers of Germany and the UK called for a ceasefire in Gaza, yet not an immediate one, claiming "Israel" should have a right to defend itself.
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, December 6, 2023. (AP)
In a joint article for the Sunday Times, UK Foreign Minister David Cameron and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, urged for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, but still said that an immediate ceasefire is not the most optimal solution.
"Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable," Cameron and Baerbock said, justifying "Israel's" continued genocide in Gaza by claiming that if "Israel" stops all military actions, more violence will arise, impeding the achievement of long-term peace.
They further defended "Israel", which under international law does not have the right to self-defense, by saying that the blame lay with the Resistance for attacking "Israel" on October 7, and so any ceasefire that would allow the Resistance the continue to defend itself would not be "the way forward."
"We do not believe that calling right now for a general and immediate ceasefire, hoping it somehow becomes permanent, is the way forward. It ignores why Israel is forced to defend itself: Hamas barbarically attacked Israel and still fires rockets to kill Israeli citizens every day," they said.
Read next: Israeli captives shot by IOF were carrying white flags: Israeli forces
Contradicting arguments
Cameron and Baerbock stated that "Israel" should not violate international humanitarian law and should work to minimize civilian deaths.
Both also claimed that funding for humanitarian aid to Gaza has been increased, despite barely any humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, and stated that they called on stakeholders, namely in Arab countries, to cooperate on finding a political solution to the war in Gaza.
In their article, extremist Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank were condemned as the ministers argued that Palestine requires a leadership able to provide security and good governance.
Read next: Western nations urge 'Israel' to end settler violence in West Bank
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed to US President Joe Biden that the United States has a "historic responsibility" in ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza, marking a lower tone from one he has adopted recently.
Last week, the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, in alignment with its fixed stance that this is not the time for a ceasefire despite the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Strip, claiming that it would only empower the Resistance.
Commenting on the veto, Erdogan slammed the US on Sunday, adding that the UNSC has become an "Israel protection council" in the past two months and that it requires reform.
"The world is bigger than five," he said then, referring to the five permanent UNSC members with veto powers. "The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that?"
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
