As defence secretary Lloyd J. Austin III travels to West Asia on Sunday to press Israel to scale back its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, two of Israel’s most important allies are urging the same — while advocating for a “sustainable” ceasefire.
In a joint opinion article published in The Sunday Times of London, the foreign secretaries of Britain and Germany displayed an important change in tone from their previous, all-out support for Israel. That echoes an apparent tonal shift from Washington, which has said Israel must do more to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza.
David Cameron of Britain and Annalena Baerbock of Germany argued, as has President Biden, that calls for an immediate ceasefire would only benefit Hamas. And they echoed the Biden administration in saying that “too many civilians have been killed” in Gaza by the Israeli military. But they expressed support for a ceasefire that would go beyond a temporary pause in the fighting. Calls for an immediate ceasefire, they wrote, are “an understandable reaction to such intense suffering, and we share the view that this conflict cannot drag on and on. That is why we supported the recent humanitarian pauses”.
“Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations,” they added. “We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire and has opposed US calls for Gaza to be governed by a “revitalised” Palestinian Authority as a stage toward a two-state solution.
Cameron and Baerbock wrote that Israel has the right to defend itself, but it “must abide by international humanitarian law” and do more to protect civilians in Gaza. And its friends must push for a long-term solution embodying two states for two peoples, they said.
“Israel will not win this war if its operations destroy the prospect of peaceful coexistence with Palestinians,” they wrote, while noting that “leaving Hamas in power in Gaza would be a permanent roadblock on the path to a two-state solution”.
New York Times News Service
