Hungary is the only EU country not to support an EU declaration calling for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians, according to the bloc's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell. https://eudebates.tv/ EU foreign ministers met for a special meeting Tuesday to address the surge in violence in Israel and Palestinian Territories, with 26 out of 27 member nations agreeing on a statement.<br />#eudebates #Jerusalem #Palestinians #Palestine #Israel <br />"The priority is the immediate cessation of all violence and implementation of a ceasefire," said Borrell. "The upsurge of violence has led to a high number of civilian casualties, deaths and injuries, among them a high number of children and women, and that this is unacceptable.”<br /><br />However, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told AFP news agency; "I have a general problem with the European statements on Israel (...) They are not of much help, especially in the current circumstances, when the tensions are so high."<br /><br />Death toll rising as Israel hits Gaza, Hamas hits Israel<br /><br />At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in heavy airstrikes so far, including 61 children, and over 1,400 people wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, have been killed in rocket attacks launched towards civilian areas in Israel.<br /><br />Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza, levelling a six-story building in downtown Gaza City, and Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel early on Tuesday, the latest in the fourth war between the two sides.<br /><br />EU statement calls for security, to restore political horizon<br /><br />Borrell also said in the statement that: “We support the right to defence for Israel and right to security - also for the Palestinians - and we consider that security for Israel and Palestine requires a true political solution, because only a true political solution could bring peace, and to do that we need to restore a political horizon”.<br /><br />French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that the conflict could spread throughout the region if no cease-fire is agreed. He also said he hoped that Israel wouldn't launch a ground operation in Gaza.<br /><br />“Each day brings greater risks: the risk of the conflict spreading to the West Bank, the risk of violence inside Israel itself, the risk that the conflict becomes a regional one,” Le Drian told reporters in Paris during a break in the meeting.<br /><br />Diplomatic efforts so far fail to prevent Israel-Gaza conflict from escalating<br /><br />Massive fire at paint factory in Gaza<br /><br />“The situation on the ground is extremely worrying. There is a heavy casualty toll. Israeli and Palestinian families are in mourning. The images are terrible and cannot leave anyone indifferent. Waiting is not an option,” Le Drian said.<br /><br />He also said that “one of the reasons for the dramatic situation today is precisely because there is no perspective for a political process.
