Slovakia Joins Call of 25 Countries and EC to End war in Gaza Strip

Bratislava, 23 July (TASR) - Slovakia on Tuesday (22 July) joined a group of 25 countries and the European Commission (EC) that called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip and condemned the "inhumane killing of civilians" and holding of hostages, the Foreign Affairs Ministry's communication department has informed TASR. "The Slovak Republic has joined the declaration initiated by the United Kingdom on the occupied Palestinian territories, which the British side positively accepted and will add us to the list of signatories. The declaration is fully in line with the consistent positions of the Slovak government in relation to the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on supporting the important negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, which can be crucial in the peace process," said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). Twenty-five countries and the EC on Monday (21 July) called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip, condemning the "inhumane killing of civilians" and the holding of hostages. The countries criticised Israel for blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. They view Israel's way of distributing humanitarian aid as dangerous, fuelling instability and depriving local residents of human dignity. In addition to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the joint position was signed by the foreign affairs ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as the European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management and Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib from Belgium. ko