‘Unacceptable’: Malta Joins 27 Nations Criticising Israel Over Gaza
Malta has officially joined a group of 28 countries urging Israel to stop the war in Gaza and allow immediate, unrestricted humanitarian aid into the region.
In a joint statement, also signed by countries like Ireland, Canada, Spain and Australia, the nations slammed the continued killing of civilians, including people who were just trying to get food.
Over 800 Palestinians have reportedly been killed while trying to access aid.
The statement doesn’t hold back, calling the situation in Gaza “inhumane” and criticising Israel’s handling of the conflict, including its plans to forcibly move Palestinians to camps built on the ruins of Rafah.
The countries are also pushing back against new Israeli settlement plans in the West Bank, which they say would break up Palestinian land and kill off hopes for a two-state solution.
And while they also called for Hamas to release all hostages immediately, most of the pressure is now squarely on Israel to open up Gaza to humanitarian organisations before the situation gets even worse.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the current aid efforts as “unacceptable” and pledged £40 million in UK support to Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel rejected the criticism, accusing the signatories of ignoring Hamas’ actions and being out of touch with reality.
Locally, the statement has been welcomed by the political party Momentum, with chairperson Arnold Cassola calling it “a shred of human decency in international politics”, even if it comes late, after thousands of civilian deaths.
Although Malta signed the statement, it still hasn’t formally recognised Palestine as a state, something that was expected a couple of weeks ago, but was pushed back after a key UN meeting was postponed.
Do you think Malta is doing enough?