The EU statement, issued in Brussels after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Friday, declared that a “return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option.”
Israel is pleased with the EU’s call for disarming Hamas. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, “Israel welcomes the [EU] ministers’ repeated calls for the terrorist organizations in Gaza to disarm.”
“A commitment to the principle of demilitarization, which will be implemented by an effective monitoring mechanism, will ensure that the situation changes fundamentally,” Palmor added.
On the other hand, the two top US Administration officials – President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry – have made it clear that disarming Gaza is not a priority. Asked if the Obama Administration endorses the Israeli demand to disarm Hamas, a top National Security official said only that “one would hope” that “some form of demilitarization” would be a result of a ceasefire. And Kerry didn’t even go that far; all he said was, “All of the issues of Gaza would be on the table.”
The Senate, on the other hand, has been outspoken about the need to disarm Hamas. It has not passed any formal resolutions to this effect, but many Senators have gone on record in favor of making this an integral feature of any ceasefire.
On Thursday, the day before the EU statement, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf spent several long minutes attempting to reconcile the Administration’s “review” of munitions deliveries to Israel and the “no change” in the general policy towards Israel. Specifically, she said, “Given the crisis in Gaza, it’s natural that agencies take additional care to review deliveries as part of an interagency process. That is by no means unusual and, again, does not indicate any change in policy.”
She then said this was not actually a “review,” but rather “taking a second look.”
Challenged as to the purpose of a “second look” if there was no policy change, she again called it a review, then later changed it to “looking again,” etc.
Back and forth the point was belabored; one reporter asked, “If you’re undertaking a review with a lowercase ‘r’, or a second look or – again, whatever you want to call it – that that would stand to reason that perhaps at the end of that look that you might make some kind of policy change.”
Harf negated this, and so on and so forth, until finally one impatient correspondent asked, “Can we go to Ukraine, please?”
@ bernard ross:
Texas state of mind !!!!!!!!!
@ bernard ross:
Listen , BR, if you think you have the smoking gun , proof positive for all your plots, Obama being the head of Al Queda (or ISIS? well whatever) etc, I’m the wrong guy, I’m just a citizen – you need to take it to the CIA or the NYT or some organization like that and they can help you far more than I can.
I’d take it easy with that world “Benghazi” it seems to be a PTSD stress trigger for you.
OK? Good Luck
Ta-ta
Take it easy.
Don’t call me, I’ll call you.
Max Said:
Looks like its time for big mouth mad max to eat crow again
Obviously this fool reads nothing wrt his posts. I have never known anyone to be a greater buffoon. You would think this idiot would google it before he opened his ignorant mouth:
Just google it and you can find more MSM saying the same. You have a massive vaccum of knowledge about the ME. I have yet to hear you make one knowledgeable comment on the subject.
Are you man enough to apologize for all your ad hominem? I doubt it. dont you even make the slightest effort to read something about subjects you comment on?
You have again become a cartoon character, a ludicrous buffoon, psycho-babbling along, making ignorant comments with no support,insulting posters when you are caught being clueless…….apparently you have interesting conversations with yourself.