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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - For a year, Israel has been attacking Gaza under the pretext of wanting to eradicate Hamas. In the past two months, Israel invaded Lebanon with the excuse of wanting to destroy Hezbollah. These two operations carried out by Israel did not receive much condemnation from European countries. However, when Israel's arrogance led it to attack UNIFIL, many parties reacted strongly, including European countries that have been supporting its actions.
Italy
Several Italian opposition political parties called on the government and the European Union to recognize Palestine as a state and to ban arms exports to Israel, reports Anadolu Agency.
The call came as Israel escalated its attacks in southern Lebanon and asked the United Nations peacekeeping forces - including Italian forces - to leave the area, invade, and attack their locations.
In an Instagram post, Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, said: "After the shooting at the base where Italian troops from the UNIFIL mission were deployed, Israeli tanks are now raiding the UN base."
"When will people open their eyes and decide to stop the war crimes of the Prime Minister [of Israel] Netanyahu? Have 12 months of systematic destruction of the Palestinian population and the destruction of Gaza not been enough? Are the invasion and deaths in Lebanon and attacks on our bases not enough?"
Conte added that his party had raised this issue for months.
He criticized the Italian government and European institutions for merely making statements, rather than imposing an arms embargo and economic and trade sanctions on Israel.
"Let's stop Netanyahu's madness, let's make a serious decision to impose a ceasefire and a two-state, two-people solution for Israel and Palestine," he added.
Secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to join the proposal for an arms embargo on Israel, initiated by Spain and France.
Schlein added that her party asked the government to make a decision regarding the recognition of the Palestinian state.
England
Nearly 50 British parliament members welcomed the UN resolution on September 18, urging Israel to immediately end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and urging their government to stop all military exports to Israel, as reported by Anadolu Agency.
In an initial motion filed by independent parliament members Richard Burgeon, Imran Hussain, Zarah Sultana, and Labour Party members Andy McDonald, Diane Abbott, and Bell Riberio-Addy, they stated that the endorsement of the UN resolution placed new obligations on the government.
"... and call on the Government to act in support of the UN resolution and the ICJ opinion, including by ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, and rescinding the 2030 Road Map deepening economic, trade, and security relations between the UK and Israel."
Parliament members also welcomed the UN resolution's call on states to fulfill their obligations under international law and take concrete steps to address Israel's unlawful presence in occupied territories.
As of Tuesday morning, the motion had been signed by 47 parliament members from the Labour Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Alliance Party, as well as 12 independent parliament members.
"As the horrors in Gaza and the West Bank continue, the British Government must support the UN at this critical moment," Hussain, one of the six parliament members who tabled the motion written on X, said.
France
On Friday, the French President condemned Israel's recent attack on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, Anadolu news agency reported.
"It is unacceptable to see UNIFIL troops deliberately targeted by Israeli forces. We condemn it, we do not tolerate it, and we will not tolerate it happening again," said Emmanuel Macron in a joint press conference following the EU member states summit with interests in the Mediterranean.
Macron also renewed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, which he described as "highly necessary."
He also said that the call to stop the provision of weapons to conflict zones would have a unique influence in ending the conflict, adding that this was "not a call to disarm Israel," but a call to "stop any further destabilization in this part of the world."
Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, on Friday, October 11, 2024, urged the international community to stop selling weapons to Israel. He also condemned the attack on United Nations peacekeepers or UNIFIL in Lebanon.
Israeli forces fired at an observation post used by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, injuring two people, a UN source said, the third consecutive day the peacekeepers reported Israeli shots at their positions as Israel launched a war against Hezbollah.
No Spanish soldiers participating in the mission were targeted in the attack, the Spanish Ministry of Defense said on Friday.
"Allow me at this moment to criticize and condemn the attack carried out by the Israeli armed forces against the UN mission in Lebanon," said Sanchez, whose country has criticized Israel in the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East, after meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Sanchez said Spain stopped selling weapons to Israel in October 2023 and urged the world to do the same to prevent further escalation in the region.
"I think it is urgent in view of what is happening in the Middle East that the international community stops exporting weapons to the Israeli government," he said.
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