EU leaders agreed to remove a reference to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when criticising recent attacks on United Nations’ peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, in a joint statement following this week’s European Council summit.
A draft of a statement being negotiated by the 27 EU countries expressed “grave concern regarding the attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which left several peacekeepers wounded”.
The final version of the statement issued at the end of the summit on Thursday night had removed the reference to the IDF. “The European Council condemns the attacks against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which left several peacekeepers wounded,” it said.
It is understood Spain and Germany had proposed some compromise amendments to the statement on the Middle East, and then reference to the IDF was taken out during revisions of communiqué in the closed doors summit meeting in Brussels.
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A spokesman for Germany’s EU delegation said he could not comment on specific negotiations around the text. Germany, along with Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, are often staunch supporters of Israel around the table of EU leaders. Other countries, such as Ireland, Belgium and Spain, have been pushing the EU to take firmer action against Israel over the war in Gaza.
Tensions between the Israeli army and UN peacekeeping troops stationed near Lebanon’s border with Israel have significantly escalated in recent weeks, as Israel has ramped up its bombing campaign and military ground incursions in south Lebanon.
Earlier this week Unifil said an IDF tank fired on one of its watchtowers, while last weekend two tanks broke through the main gate and forcibly entered a UN position. Several peacekeepers have been injured in attacks by the IDF, which have been widely condemned.
The joint statement by EU leaders on Thursday said attacks on the Unifil peacekeeping force, which include troops from Ireland and many other European countries, were “totally unacceptable and must stop immediately”.
During the meeting Taoiseach Simon Harris again raised a request from Ireland and Spain that the EU’s trade agreement with Israel be reviewed, for possible breaches of its human rights clauses, due to Israel’s actions during its invasion of Gaza.
Speaking to journalists after the summit, Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s prime minister, said he also believed the trade agreement should be reviewed. “An evaluation of the association agreement is something that we should do. An arms embargo is something that we should do. Sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank are something that we should do,” he said. “My opinion is not one that is shared by everyone.”
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