Last Thursday, at the plenary session of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell delivered a speech commensurate with the critical events we are experiencing following the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli civilians and the dramatic humanitarian consequences of the military response in the Gaza Strip.

The EU’s foreign policy chief told us in Strasbourg that it is time to give room to reason and not let emotions get carried away. And that’s what’s really difficult for all of us.

As I write this article, I cannot ignore the pain of an Israeli mother who endured 14 days of unimaginable suffering. disaster thinks about how, where and under what conditions a terrorist organization will kidnap her daughter and when she will be able to return her. At the same time, I cannot stop thinking about the horror of a Palestinian mother who hugs her daughter in the face of helplessness, knowing that her arms are the only refuge that will protect her from the more than 6,000 bombs that continuously fall on this prison. no way out. This is Gaza.

Our position in this tragedy must be based on unconditional support for human rights and the democratic principles that underlie them. That is why we must condemn in the strongest possible terms the brutal attack by the terrorist group Hamas on Israeli civilians and demand the immediate and unconditional release of all abducted people. And based on the same principles, we condemn the death of thousands of Palestinians, defenseless civilians who are dying as a result of the massive bombing of the Gaza Strip. Condemning one tragedy should not prevent us from condemning another; In fact, it gives us greater legitimacy, as Borrell reminded us in his speech.

Condemning one tragedy should not prevent us from condemning another; In fact, it gives us greater legitimacy, as Borrell reminded us in his speech.

Israel has the right to defend itself. It is clear. It exists like any other state. But this right is limited by international and humanitarian law. The international community, based on laws, has decided that even in times of war they also exist, and that respect for them is what distinguishes democracies from autocratic regimes and terrorist organizations.

The laws of war protect us all: those who suffer from war now and those who will suffer from it in the future. They are our last shield of protection for the most vulnerable: children, women, displaced people, when the irrationality of violence prevails. The protection of civilians in armed conflicts is therefore a fundamental pillar of international humanitarian law.

Civilians cannot be a military target, and there are no collective punishments against this population. The destruction of basic infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies, as well as blockades preventing the passage of food and medicine, are considered war crimes. Forced population transfers are prohibited; hospitals, medical and humanitarian personnel are protected.

In the 365 square kilometers of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million people – the highest population density in the world, blockaded by land, sea and air by the Israeli army – there is no exit, no refuge, no safe place to hide from bombs. The deterioration of the humanitarian situation is Dantesque. Before this latest explosion, 60% of the population was already dependent on humanitarian aid. The numbers give us an idea of ​​the scale of the disaster: over 14 days of explosions on the strip, 4,137 people died; 1,500 of them are children. 13,162 people were wounded, more than 4,000 were children. More than 300 deaths per day; more than 100 boys and girls die every day. Numbers that will continue to rise due to the loss of power, water, food and medicine.

Reaching humanitarian aid and restoring basic supplies is an urgent matter. Of the three active entry points into Gaza, Erez and Kerem Shalom are currently closed, both controlled by Israel, which has confirmed that no humanitarian aid will flow through them. The only hope is the Rafah crossing through Egypt, where the UN and non-governmental organizations have amassed more than 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid. It’s necessary Stop the fire, and not just a humanitarian pause, so that hundreds of trucks pass through per day, and not the 20 that entered yesterday: given the humanitarian collapse created, this seems like a terrible joke. And aid must be distributed to more than 2 million wounded and exhausted civilians, deprived of water, food and medicine.

A truce is needed, not just a humanitarian pause, so that hundreds of trucks pass through each day, and not the 20 that entered yesterday: given the humanitarian collapse created, this seems like a terrible joke

Given the current situation, it is time Condemn the flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law and actively demand that Israel respect it. The EU must defend the democratic values ​​that we represent and which must be valid in both peace and war. If we don’t do it in Gaza, we won’t be able to do it anywhere in the world.

This is entirely consistent with unconditional support for the State of Israel to live in peace. Not with unconditional support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to create their own state.

It is an imperative obligation of the EU to ensure that international law does not disappear in smoke and bombs.

But it is also important to provide the impetus that must be decisive for achieving peace in the region. Put all our energy and political capital into resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

There is no other way to peace except two-state solution agreed upon by the international community and whose architecture is developed in United Nations resolutions, but which, since the signing of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago, is being pushed further and further away every day.

The number of illegal settlements and settlers has tripled, reducing the territory of the future Palestinian state. The enemies of the world are stronger today. Hamas, whose goal is the destruction of Israel, is becoming stronger as the Palestinian Authority, our interlocutor in peace negotiations, weakens. Ultra-Orthodox and far-right forces today form part of an Israeli government that is clearly annexationist and denies the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have their own state.

This is why building peace today is more difficult than ever, but also more necessary than ever. This can be achieved not only through empty declarations, as we do in the EU, but through active work on it. Thousands of lives are at stake, as well as the stability of the region and the credibility of the international community, which decided in 1947 to divide Palestine into two states to guarantee peace and coexistence between Jews and Palestinians, and which failed miserably. .

I remember in these tragic days that we live as the Israeli Shlomo Ben Ami once told me: let us work for peace with the hope that peace, however incomplete, will always be more desirable than victory in war, however complete.

Soraya Rodriguez She is a member of the European Parliament as part of the Ciudadanos delegation.