Ex-Israeli negotiator EXPOSES Trump’s peace board
Hundreds of former EU officials call for stronger action against Israel
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Hundreds of former EU and member state ministers, ambassadors and senior officials have called on the European Union to take “robust and sustained action” to increase pressure on Israel and end “unremitting violations of international law” in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.
In a joint statement released Monday and co-signed by 404 former officials, the group urged the EU and its members to move beyond condemnatory statements and adopt concrete measures, including suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and halting all military support to Israel.
“A robust approach based on the EU’s founding values and principles will be essential to reestablish the Union’s reputation as a force for peace and good in our time,” the statement said.
The signatories warned that the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate despite the launch of an international peace initiative, pointing to ongoing Israeli military operations, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and the targeting of civilians and aid workers.
According to the statement, around 500 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, have been killed in Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire reached last October, bringing the total death toll since the start of Israel’s military campaign to over 71,000, the vast majority civilians.
READ: Israel orders demolition of 14 homes in Jerusalem
The former officials also condemned Israel’s continued restrictions on humanitarian access, calling for the full and permanent opening of the Rafah border crossing and an end to what they described as the misuse of “dual-use” policies to block aid deliveries.
They strongly criticized Israel’s decision to deregister dozens of international NGOs operating in Gaza, warning that such measures undermine lifesaving assistance and violate UN humanitarian principles.
The statement also denounced Israel’s actions against the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), including the destruction of its West Bank field office in East Jerusalem, calling the campaign against the agency “a flagrant contempt” of recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinions.
In the occupied West Bank, the signatories highlighted a sharp increase in Israeli settlement activity, noting that plans for more than 47,000 housing units were advanced in 2025—an 81% rise compared to the previous year—despite international rulings declaring settlements illegal.
Calling for accountability, the group urged the EU to desist from joining the recently announced “Board of Peace,” arguing that its composition and governance risk undermining the role of the UN and international law.
“It is high time for the EU and its member states to take robust and sustained action to reverse the disastrous situation currently afflicting the Palestinian people, notably in Gaza but also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, a retired EU official and former ambassador to the occupied Palestinian territory, told Anadolu.
“To increase pressure on Israel, alliances with like-minded partners in the OECD and the Global South, and notably in the Middle East, have to be built and strengthened,” he said, stressing the need to protect Palestinians’ “inalienable right to political self-determination and a life in peace, security and dignity.”
READ: EU condemns repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza, urges respect for humanitarian law
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- EU condemns repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza, urges respect for humanitarian law
Spain condemns Israeli ban on Doctors Without Borders
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Spanish government on Monday condemned the Israeli decision to ban the activities of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.
“The Spanish Government condemns the decision by the Israeli authorities to impose a halt on the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres, which are essential to alleviating the dramatic health situation of the Gazan population in the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Ministry announced in a written statement.
The statement reiterated that international humanitarian NGOs, like MSF, provide “irreplaceable assistance” in life-saving services across Gaza and the West Bank.
“The work of MSF in Gaza, as well as that of all humanitarian organizations in the field of health, is essential in addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip, providing vital assistance to the Palestinian population in Gaza who are subjected to unbearable violence,” it added.
The Spanish government also urged Tel Aviv to reverse the decision, saying it “seriously undermines the most basic moral principles,” and reminded Israel of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law and to reduce the suffering of all human beings.
READ: Israel bans Doctors Without Borders from Gaza
Israel on Sunday banned the activities of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Gaza Strip and ordered the organization to leave the enclave by Feb. 28.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which oversees dealings with humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank, said the decision was taken after the charity refused to submit its staff lists to Tel Aviv.
MSF is one of the largest humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, and halting its activities is expected to cause severe damage to the already scarce medical services available in the enclave.
Israel’s two-year war on Gaza has killed nearly 71,800 Palestinians and wounded more than 171,400. The assault has destroyed roughly 90% of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, with UN estimates placing reconstruction costs at about $70 billion.
READ: MSF warns Israeli decision to end Gaza operations threatens patients’ lives
- Israel’s Shin Bet excludes West Bank settler attacks from terrorism classification
- France issues arrest warrants against 2 Israeli women over genocide complicity in Gaza
- UAE denies claims it will manage Gaza, says governance is for Palestinians
- Hamas says arrangements complete to hand over Gaza administration to national committee
- Gaza Holds a Mirror to the World
- Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ to give Hamas ‘2-month ultimatum’ to disarm, Israeli finance minister says
- EU condemns repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza, urges respect for humanitarian law
EU condemns repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza, urges respect for humanitarian law
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The European Union condemned on Sunday repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza and called for full respect for international humanitarian law.
Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, preparedness, and crisis management, condemned Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire and its ongoing strikes in the Gaza Strip.
“We condemn the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza, where hundreds of Palestinians were killed and injured by Israeli strikes over the weekend,” Lahbib said in a statement shared on US social media company X.
Lahbib stressed that international humanitarian law must be upheld and that civilians must be protected everywhere and at all times.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued its attacks, killing 524 people and injuring 1,360 others since Oct. 10, 2025, according to Gaza’s media office.
READ: International legal team lodges new annex at ICC over Israel’s targeting of civilians in Gaza
- Israel’s Shin Bet excludes West Bank settler attacks from terrorism classification
- France issues arrest warrants against 2 Israeli women over genocide complicity in Gaza
- UAE denies claims it will manage Gaza, says governance is for Palestinians
- Hamas says arrangements complete to hand over Gaza administration to national committee
- Gaza Holds a Mirror to the World
- Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ to give Hamas ‘2-month ultimatum’ to disarm, Israeli finance minister says
- EU condemns repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza, urges respect for humanitarian law
‘You Have Lost All Legitimacy’: Portland Mayor Demands ICE Leave City After Tear Gassing Kids
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children.”
The mayor of Portland, Oregon demanded that federal immigration enforcement officials leave his city after they were seen lobbing tear gas and flash bang grenades at demonstrators.
As reported by The Oregonian on Sunday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson reacted with outrage after seeing federal agents deploying tear gas and firing rubber bullets at thousands of protesters who on Saturday marched to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the city’s South Waterfront neighborhood.
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Wilson called the agents’ attacks on protesters a vast overreaction to a “peaceful daytime protest, where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces” stationed at the facility.
“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave,” Wilson said. “Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame.”
The mayor also heaped scorn on federal agents for employing such tactics when several children were present in the crowd.
“To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children,” he said. “Ask yourselves why you continue to work for an agency responsible for murders on American streets. No one is forcing you to lie to yourself, even as your bosses continue to lie to the American people.”
Erin Hoover Barnett, a former Oregonian reporter who attended the demonstration, told the paper that she saw “what looked like two guys with rocket launchers” who started dousing the crowd with tear gas on Saturday.
“To be among parents frantically trying to tend to little children in strollers,” she said, “people using motorized carts trying to navigate as the rest of us staggered in retreat, unsure of how to get to safety, was terrifying.”
A Portland protester identified only as Robin gave an account similar to Barnett’s during an interview with local news station KPTV.
“About eight or 10 of them came out with guns whatever kind of guns they have and flash bombed just started throwing them at the crowd just exploding everywhere,” said Robin. “It was like a war zone. It felt like we were under attack. I definitely got hit. I had to run around the corner and pour a bunch of water on my face.”
One local protester identified only as Celeste told local news station KOIN 6 that she was out on the streets because she wanted to “fight tyranny.”
“What’s happening in our streets with ICE is ridiculous,” said Celeste. “It’s illegal. It’s got to be stopped. And no one’s going to stop it. Except we the people. We’ve got a tyrant in the White House, and no one will stop him but us.”
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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