Another flying pigs moment: Britain, Germany reject EU call for immediate cease-fire
Let's hear it for the Tony and Angela Show:
HaAretz is reporting that Britain and Germany have rejected draft EU statement calling for an immediate cease fire in Lebanon leaving Fwance to be fwooious all by themselves! The two nations, at emergency EU foreign ministers' talks, offered an alternative draft calling for an eventual "cessation of hostilities," with no time frame given. I wonder whether that was drafted by Condaleeza Rice or John Bolton :-) The original draft, circulated as ministers from the 25-nation bloc began a rare August meeting, also warned of breaches of international law in the three-week-old fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
"The Council called for an immediate cease-fire," the draft statement said. "Disregard for necessary precautions to avoid loss of civilian life constitutes a severe breach of international humanitarian law."
The bloc had been divided over whether to demand an immediate cease-fire and a united call spells out a difference with the United States, which has refrained from urging an immediate halt to the violence.
Earlier in the day, EU president Finland branded Israel's decision to step up military action against Hezbollah guerrillas unacceptable.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:38 PM
3 Comments:
I know it is not obvious, but there's still some people over here in Europe standing with Israel. Tsahal has my entire sympathy.
Sisyphus,
Thanks. I thought Tony Blair would stand with Israel, but I know he gets a lot of pressure from his cabinet and from both parties in Parliament to do otherwise.
Angela Merkel is a new and unknown quantity, and based on her predecessors her behavior is a pleasant surprise.
A year ago I would have expected Italy and three years ago I would have expected Spain to stand with us. So I guess things change pretty quickly in that part of the world.
Glad you stand with us.
Frankly, Israel should not care one whit about what Europe thinks. Certainly most EU bureaucrats would love to see Israel (and all Jews, for that matter) wiped off the face of the earth, and I venture most common Europeans would, too.
It must gall them that it is now the lowly Jews who have the power, and the Europeans are the ones who are basically powerless.
And I hope that Israel makes this offensive long enough and brutal enough that I can take back what I said a couple of days ago about her seeming to have lost the will to fight....
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