Malta’s Foreign Ministry Will Not Disclose Whether Or Not It Supports Sanctioning Israel
The Foreign Ministry will not disclose whether or not it supports calls to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement and impose trade sanctions on Israel.
Last week, Lovin Malta sent questions to the Ministry asking whether Malta supports the calls made by Spain, Ireland and Belgium for the European Union to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement due to human rights violations.
The newsroom asked whether Malta supports calls to impose trade sanctions for these grave humanitarian abuses and probed into the island-nation’s position on the European Commission’s silence to the request to review this agreement.
This was the response Lovin Malta received:
“Malta’s priority during this critical moment is to work closely with our EU and international partners to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and secure the release of the remaining hostages. The continuing images of people and children dying are unacceptable and underscore the urgent need to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible. Malta will continue to utilise all the tools at its disposal to achieve this goal. Ultimately, at EU level Malta seeks to act in a way that does not foreclose outcomes but instead leaves space to conduct the diplomatic outreach which will be necessary in order to see an end to this conflict.”
“Malta acknowledges the sensitivity and complexity surrounding recent call by some member states, and it continues to support the need for thorough discussions and collective agreement among member states, to ensure a unified and considered approach to this matter.”
At the start of the conflict, Malta had a moment of being somewhat progressive and going against the grain when it said it was ready to recognise the State of Palestine. It said so in tandem with Spain, Ireland and Slovenia in March.
However, in May, when Spain, Norway and Ireland went ahead and did it, Malta stayed back and said it was banking on “the right conditions” for this to become a reality. Five months later, Malta still does not recognise Palestine and the “conditions” needed for this to happen remain unknown.
It seems that Malta will keep toeing the US line when it comes to saying anything even remotely controversial about the genocide in Gaza.
In a year, almost 50,000 people have died in both Gaza and Lebanon. The time for “thorough discussion” is over. The countries need action.
As a small, neutral country that has historically supported Palestine, the only thing Malta can and should do is join countries like Spain and Ireland and urge the big dogs (the EU and the US) to stop Israel’s unbridled aggression against the Middle East.
What is your opinion on Malta’s position on Israel’s aggression in Gaza and Lebanon?
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