{"id":120384,"date":"2023-10-25T06:49:16","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T06:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=120384"},"modified":"2023-10-25T06:49:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T06:49:16","slug":"eu-plea-for-israel-to-down-arms-shows-bloc-does-not-understand-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/politics\/eu-plea-for-israel-to-down-arms-shows-bloc-does-not-understand-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"EU plea for Israel to down arms shows bloc does not understand Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With European Union member states pushing for a ceasefire, a prominent UK-based critic has said the bloc\u2019s attempt to persuade Israel to \u201cdown arms\u201d its war on Hamas proves Brussels \u201cdoes not understand the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n

Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib also urged the EU to \u201cget back in its box\u201d when it comes to foreign policy – and said its attempt to develop \u201cmilitary command structures\u201d actually made it a \u201cthreat to peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

Elisabeth Bourne, France\u2019s Prime Minister, is calling for a \u201chumanitarian truce\u201d to permit aid agencies to bring more supplies into Gaza, with growing concern about the possibility of a humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n

However, while EU sources are widely believed to be ready to accept such a plan, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, he explained: \u201cIt is difficult to tell Israel to have a ceasefire when it is still facing rocket fire on an almost daily basis, and when its citizens are still being held hostage and it has suffered an appalling terrorist attack where it has a right to defend itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mr Habib, a former Brexit Party MEP, told Express.co.uk: \u201cWhen Trump imposed sanctions on Iran, the EU tried to sidestep them through the establishment of alternative clearing systems for trade with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, in case anyone has not joined the dots, Hamas terrorised Israel under instructions from Tehran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Habib continued: \u201cI see no EU commissioners owning up to their massive folly in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n

“Instead, they are at it again. This time pleading with Israel to down arms for \u2018humanitarian reasons\u2019.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He warned: \u201cThe EU does not understand the Middle East if it thinks this is a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Israel not to respond with force, for it not to relentlessly go after Hamas, would be read in Tehran as weakness. It would embolden Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat regime and many others in the Middle East understand only the politics of power, not the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EU needs to get back in its box and stop interfering in things which are beyond its grasp.\u201d<\/p>\n