Israel must “stop killing people” and accept the terms of the US-France brokered ceasefire with Lebanon, European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said as the Israeli government reportedly will vote on a proposed ceasefire on Tuesday, the 26th of November, reports Politico.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that Israel was “close” to an agreement with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, Borrell said the French-US agreement “gives Israel all the security commitments it asked for” and called on the Israeli leadership to accept it immediately.
“Let us hope that today the Netanyahu government will approve the ceasefire agreement,” Borrell said. “No excuses. No more demands. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people.”
Since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on the 7th of October last year, Hezbollah and Israel have been firing rockets at each other almost every day.
These tensions escalated into all-out war in September when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon with the aim of destroying the Iranian-backed group’s infrastructure along the border and allowing Israelis displaced by the rocket strikes to return to their homes.
But the proposed ceasefire will not end Israel’s incursion into the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military continues its efforts to root out Hamas, leaving the coastal enclave in ruins and killing more than 40 000 people.
EU’s Borel urges Israel to “stop killing people” and agree to ceasefire in Lebanon
