The Israeli Government will summon the ambassadors of both Belgium and Spain for "a harsh rebuke conversation" after their Prime Ministers' comments on the high death toll in Gaza during their diplomatic trip to the region.
Belgian and Spanish Prime Ministers Alexander De Croo and Pedro Sanchez travelled together to Israel and the Palestinian territories where they met officials on both sides, including the Israeli President and Prime Minister.
The key message delivered to the Israeli Government was that it needed to do more to end civilian casualties and help achieve a political solution to the crisis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government's actions by claiming that if Hamas is not defeated "it will spread to Europe." He also likened attacks on Israel to thousands of rockets "falling on Barcelona, falling on Madrid, falling on Brussels, falling on Antwerp."
The conversation was described to the travelling press as "confrontational" by De Croo, with Netanyahu choosing not to face European journalists. Yet comments on de-escalation – the stated mission of the trip – have angered the Israeli Government.
"We condemn the false claims of the Prime Ministers of Spain and Belgium who are giving support to terrorism and as a result of their words their ambassadors will be invited to a harsh rebuke conversation," the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on social media. "Israel is acting according to international law and fighting a murderous terrorist organisation worse than ISIS," he continued.
Aid lorries waiting in Rafah, Egypt at the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday 24 November 2023. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Cohen insisted that the fighting would resume after the ceasefire "until the elimination of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and the release of all the abductees."
In a speech at the Rafah Crossing on Friday evening, De Croo stressed once again the need to end the fighting and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. "On the other side of this border horrific fighting has taken place. Too many civilians have been killed. The first victims are always women and children."
He condemned the "barbarity" of the attack on 7 October and that Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas, but reiterated that the "military operation that Israel is conducting to stop the terrorist attacks must respect international humanitarian law."
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo speech at their arrival in Rafah, Egypt at the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday 24 November 2023. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Peace negotiations must resume, settler violence in the West Bank must end and a permanent ceasefire must be agreed on, De Croo stressed during the speech at the Rafah Gate. He also thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his leadership, and stated that more aid planes were being sent from Belgium in the next few days with sleeping bags and hygiene kits for Gaza.
"On behalf of the EU we have stated there is no military solution to this conflict. One day people will need to talk to each other and a political solution is the only solution that is possible," the Belgian Prime Minister said.
Responding to the Israeli Government on Saturday morning, De Croo said: "Read the words I said at the Rafah Gate on the conflict in Gaza Prime Minister Netanyahu. I stick to that point. No more civilian casualties."
