ASEAN foreign ministers call for Gaza truce
Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN have expressed “grave concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
In a joint communique released after a meeting in Laos, the ministers condemned “all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which have resulted in the alarming number of casualties, particularly women and children, the restricted access to food, water, and other basic needs, leading to the further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.
They also called for a ceasefire in the besieged and bombarded territory as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all captives.
The ministers urged “rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all those in need, including through increased capacity at border crossings, including by sea”.
They also called for “all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law”.
‘More serious pressure’ must also be applied on the US, not just Israel
Ibrahim Fraihat, of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says governments worldwide should apply pressure not just on Israel but also on the US administration to see a positive change in the conflict.
He told Al Jazeera there have been serious actions coming from Europe, including the recent recognition of Palestinian statehood by five European countries, but he noted this still has not brought about “any concrete changes in Netanyahu’s war” on Gaza.
“The US Congress is the only parliament in the world today that provides this kind of a platform to Netanyahu to deliver a bunch of lies that he delivered in his speech,” he said, referring to the Israeli prime minister’s address earlier this week.
“The more the US administration feels isolated, the more serious pressure [would be applied] on Netanyahu to end the genocide taking place in Gaza.”
