European Parliament Urges Permanent Armistice In Gaza

Illustration of the European Union. (Wikimedia Commons/Thijs ter Haar)

ANKARA - The European Parliament for the first time called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza as Israel continued to carry out attacks on the Palestinian territories.

A 2023 report on "Human and Democracy Rights in the World and European Union Policy" was approved on Wednesday at the General Assembly of the European Parliament with 265 votes in favor, 253 against, and 10 abstained.

At the request of members of the Left group in parliament, the 62nd article of the report was changed to include calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The newly revised report, approved after a vote for resolution, includes statements urging the European Union, its member states, and the international community to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

This is the first time the European Parliament has called for a ceasefire in Gaza. In a resolution adopted on January 18, a "permanent ceasefire" can only be called for under conditions such as the release of all prisoners and the disbandment of the Hamas group in Palestine.

During a session at the General Assembly on Tuesday discussing the report, many members criticized the EU's negligence in Gaza, and accused the EU of allowing Israel not to be convicted of alleged crimes despite repeated attacks.

Some members expressed criticism of Gaza's exception from the initial draft, and they accused the EU of failing to hold Israel accountable for alleged violations of international law.

Israel has launched a deadly attack on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian Hamas group on October 7.