Minister Fajon calls on the EU to unanimously condemn Israeli military actions in Gaza and the unacceptable humanitarian blockade

SLOVENIA, May 20 - On the issue of the Middle East, Minister Fajon strongly condemned Israel's new attacks in Gaza: "With a death toll of over 53,000 and two million people on the brink of starvation, the Israeli government is allowing only 'minimal' aid for a week, mainly to avoid scenes of starvation in the media." Minister Fajon informed her colleagues that Slovenia, as a humanitarian donor, had joined 22 other countries in supporting a joint appeal to the Israeli government demanding immediate, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access commensurate with the severity of the disaster. The signatories also demanded that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations be allowed to operate independently and impartially, in accordance with humanitarian principles. Minister Fajon also pointed out the need for the EU to assume a more active role: "If we just stand by and watch massive violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, then we share the responsibility, too. The EU must consistently uphold its own values and demand accountability for all actions taken." She reiterated her call for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.

In her intervention, she further emphasised: "Our inability to act and our failure to condemn unequivocally and with one voice the flagrant violations of human rights and international law, is causing irreparable damage to the EU's reputation in the world and at home. Gaza is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, Israel is announcing the complete annexation of Palestinian territories and the forced displacement of Palestinians, which is in complete violation of international law, and the EU is still unable to respond with one voice! When was the last time we managed to do that?"

Together with Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg, Slovenia called for a review of Israel's compliance with its obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which refers to respect for human rights. Slovenia also supported the Dutch proposal: "Slovenia is in favour of adopting measures that will have an impact on trade and cooperation between the EU and Israel until respect for international law is established. Together with France, we are reviewing the possibilities of introducing national sanctions," said Minister Fajon, among other things, and supported the announcement by France, the United Kingdom and Canada to impose sanctions on Israel if it does not stop the war. She added Slovenia's call for targeted measures against violent settlers who are burning fields in the West Bank, establishing new illegal settlements and thus carrying out a de facto annexation. Regarding sanctions against Hamas, she said that they must be considered independently.

In the discussion on ending the war in Ukraine, the minister called on Russia to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and said that Slovenia had joined Austria's initiative to strengthen global support for such a ceasefire. "Putin must end this war. Slovenia supports peace that is acceptable to Ukraine. We want real negotiations to begin as soon as possible and for Europe to sit at the negotiating table." She continued by drawing attention to the dire situation of detained civilians, including journalists: "We must seek additional measures to ensure the return of civilians, prisoners of war and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children to their homes. I hope that these issues will be among the priority topics of the peace negotiations." Finally, she expressed Slovenia's support for the opening of the first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine.

On the topic of Syria, Minister Fajon expressed Slovenia's support for the proposal to lift EU economic sanctions against Syria to support the transition and recovery of the Syrian economy, while closely monitoring the situation on the ground.