EU, Gulf countries express 'grave concerns' over Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday said they condemn all attacks on UN missions, expressing “particularly grave concerns” over Israel's recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

"We are extremely concerned by the dangerous escalation in Lebanon, affirm our support for the Lebanese people," the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said in a joint statement following their first summit in Brussels.

They also expressed their "utmost concern" over recent developments in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, as well as Israeli operations there, saying that they strongly condemn ongoing extremist settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The statement called for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2735, “including an immediate, full and complete ceasefire, the release of hostages, the exchange of the Palestinian prisoners as well as immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilian population.”

The EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution for the Mideast, also stressing that "actions weakening the Palestinian Authority must stop."

The statement also condemned all attacks on UN missions, saying that the parties expressed "particularly grave concerns" over Israel's recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

On Sunday, Israeli tanks reportedly forced entry into a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) position, marking the latest in a series of incidents that have left several peacekeepers injured.

The summit, co-chaired by European Council President Charles Michel and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as the Gulf Cooperation Council’s rotating president, is expected to focus on various issues, including common key global challenges, economic cooperation, including trade and investment, energy, sustainability, and climate.

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,500 people and displacing more than 1 million.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed nearly 42,400 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon, ignoring warnings that this could escalate the war into a regional conflict.