EU to fight for Gaza ceasefire

2009-01-04 18:27

Prague - A European Union ministerial delegation led by the Czech EU presidency set off to the Middle East on Sunday, declaring that it would "fight" to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

"We have to fight for it... We are going to try to do the maximum," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told reporters at Prague airport.

"We are terribly concerned about the situation in Gaza, particularly the humanitarian situation," she added. "It is absolutely necessary that the violence has to stop on both sides.

The EU delegation is led by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, accompanied by his French and Swedish counterparts Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Its first stop will be the Egyptian capital Cairo, from where it will travel to Jerusalem, Ramallah on the West Bank, and Jordan's capital Amman.

"It will be a difficult mission," Schwarzenberg said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to fly separately to the Middle East on Monday, hoping to rally key players in the region behind a French plan to pressure Israel and Hamas to renew a failed truce.

The Czech Republic took over the rotating EU presidency on New Year's Day, with Sweden assuming the helm from July 1.

The European Union is the leading source of foreign aid to the Palestinian territories.

Ferrero-Waldner said on Sunday: "It is a humanitarian catastrophe, a great disaster, because today all the crossings are closed.

"It is absolutely necessary that they (the Palestinians in Gaza) get fuel, that they get food, water and that hospitals can work.

"The most important thing is the access for the humanitarian aid, people are sitting in the dark, they have no food, no water and the machines cannot work in Gaza hospitals."

Speaking to the BBC in London earlier on Sunday, Solana said any ceasefire would have to be "clearly maintained" by all sides.

"We are ready to cooperate with other members of the international community to see, if necessary, how we can monitor the ceasefire," he added, stressing however that a halt to fighting would have to come first.

- AFP