Beyond firefighting: an EU strategy for Gaza

The EU should respond more robustly to the recent violence in Gaza. The Trump administration is not a credible mediator; the EU should step in. The EU’s first priority must be to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which breeds discontent, radicalism and violence. But firefighting alone is insufficient. The EU needs a strategy to address the roots of conflict. It should go beyond aid, taking action on three fronts: encouraging an end to the blockade by reviving an EU presence at the Gaza border; offering greater support to Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and democratic elections; and exerting pressure on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Occupation and Sovereignty: Renewing EU Policy in Israel- Palestine http://www.europeansources.info/record/occupation-and-sovereignty-renewing-eu-policy-in-israel-palestine/

Tony Blair Institute for Global Change: Briefing, March 2018: Gaza at a Crossroads https://institute.global/insight/middle-east/gaza-crossroads

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