European Parliament overwhelmingly rejects arms embargo on Israel

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The European Parliament Thursday overwhelmingly rejected the arms embargo on Israel proposed by the Left Group.

The group on X exposed each European lawmaker who opposed the arms embargo on Israel, 393 out of 543 who were present.

Recalling that the European Parliament on Wednesday called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the group added, "But Palestinians need more than parliamentary declarations. For this reason, we demanded an arms embargo, but almost 400 MEPs voted against it."

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.