The Foreign Ministers of Spain, Norway and Ireland: “Barbarism in Rafah”
"You cannot bomb an area like that without shocking consequences in terms of innocent victims among children and civilians"
by Alessio Pisanò
BRUSSELS – The foreign affairs ministers of Norway, Ireland and Spain, the three countries that have decided to recognize the Palestinian state, have expressed their opinion on the decision of the International Court of Justice to stop the offensive in Rafah< /strong>.
“What we witnessed last night was barbaric. Gaza is a small enclave, a densely populated conurbation. You cannot bomb an area like that without shocking consequences in terms of innocent victims among children and civilians” said Michael Martin, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Ireland.
Added Barth Eide, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, that “in much of the world there is the perception that there are double standards, that the rules are applied to some but not to all. I think there is some truth to this criticism and I understand why this perception exists. This perception undermines the credibility of the entire international legal system. Therefore it is a serious problem for all of us because the impression that has been created is that the rules do not apply to everyone and many will say that they do not apply to anyone. So I think that’s what it means to uphold the principles we believe in. I would like to remind you that the International Court of Justice belongs to everyone. The International Criminal Court covers 124 countries, but the International Court of Justice is the main body of the United Nations. Every member of the United Nations must submit to the decisions of the International Court of Justice”.
José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, concluded by saying that “The three countries share the vision that the time has come to make the Two-State Solution effective which, like the rest of international community, we believe it is the best way to achieve the objective we have set ourselves”.