Belgian Foreign Minister Hajjah Lahbib announced on Thursday that the ministry had decided to summon the Israeli ambassador to Belgium against the backdrop of the bombing of the headquarters of the Belgian Development Cooperation Agency in the Gaza Strip.
The minister said through her account on the “X” platform: “The offices of the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) in Gaza were bombed and destroyed. Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable.”
She added: "We decided, along with Minister of Development Cooperation and Metropolitan Policy Carolina Guinez, to summon the Israeli ambassador in order to clarify everything."
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a bloody and destructive war against the Gaza Strip, which has left 27,019 dead and 66,139 injured.
According to the government media office in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army dropped 66,000 tons of explosives on the Strip, causing the complete destruction of 70,000 housing units, and 290,000 housing units partially and rendering them uninhabitable. Also, 140 government headquarters and approximately 400 universities and schools were completely destroyed. Complete or partial.
Britain denies joining the US strikes against Iranian targets inside Iraq and Syria
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper that Britain will not join American retaliatory strikes against targets, including Iranian individuals and facilities inside Iraq and Syria.
According to him, London wants to avoid a “large-scale regional conflict” and calls on Tehran to “ demonstrate control over Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq .”
Shapps indicated that Britain will continue to cooperate with the United States "in the war against the Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthis) movement to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea." At the same time, he denied information that the London authorities were studying the possibility of sending a British aircraft carrier to the combat zone.
The American authorities had previously said that American forces in Jordan were attacked by the Iraqi Islamic Resistance, and according to the Pentagon, this strike resulted in the death of 3 American soldiers and the wounding of more than 40 others.
The United States blames Iran for what happened, and according to CBS, the US administration approved, as a retaliatory measure, plans to strike Iranian targets and military personnel stationed in Iraq and Syria.
Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, Shapps stressed Britain's desire to continue providing assistance to Kiev, and said: “Everyone, including the Iranians, are looking at us. Will we run out of patience and leave? China will be watching [our actions] in the Indo-Pacific region, and North Korea is also watching.” “For our national interests and the interests of the West and the civilized world, it is extremely important that Ukraine succeeds in its country.”
Shapps added that, amid escalating global tensions, recruitment rates in the British Army doubled in January compared to last year, and the Daily Telegraph estimates that 10,800 Britons applied to serve in the army last month, compared to an average of 5,300 per month in 2023.
NATO and the Ukrainian war Is the European Union ready for a new era for Trump?
While it was merely a fantasy, this question is now troubling European leaders. As the Ukrainian war enters its third year and Donald Trump's stock rises in opinion polls, European policymakers face a problem as to whether they are prepared to deal with Trump again.
When US President Joe Biden declared that “America is back” after the ouster of Donald Trump in the 2020 US presidential election, many European capitals were relieved. Now that relief has been replaced by a stark realization: America may be back, but not for long.
After winning the New Hampshire primary on January 23, Donald Trump will almost certainly face Biden in the elections scheduled for November. Trump is ahead of Biden in some opinion polls, and there is a real chance that he will win the presidency.
Foreign Policy believes that if an isolationist like Trump returns to the White House, the consequences could be dire for European security. Without continued American support, “Russian President Vladimir Putin may be emboldened to act to achieve his extremist goals and destroy the security system as we know it.”
Alarm bells are ringing across the old continent
A leaked defense document revealed how Germany is preparing for a World War III scenario starting with Russia on the eastern flank of the European continent. The secret document prepared by the German Defense Ministry envisions how a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine could develop.
The scenario, titled “Defending the Alliance 2025 ,” envisions a Russian attack on the Swaleki Gap between Poland and Lithuania in the period between the US presidential election this year and early 2025. Such an attack would isolate the Baltic states from the rest of continental Europe.
While German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month: “We have to take into account that Vladimir Putin may attack one of the NATO countries one day,” adding: “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible.” .
Antonio Misseroli, a former assistant secretary general of NATO, said that a situation in which these kinds of US guarantees are not withdrawn but rather watered down or made more ambiguous could tempt the Kremlin to act against a vulnerable country like Estonia, through hybrid or even more ambiguous methods. An explicit military attack.
Norwegian Defense Minister General Erik Kristoffersen warned last week that "there is now a window that may last a year, two years, or perhaps three years, during which we must invest more in secure defence."
In December, Jacek Siwira, head of Poland's National Security Office, said NATO's eastern flank had only three years to prepare for confrontation. “This is the time when a capability must be created that will serve as a clear deterrent to aggression,” he added, according to Politico .
Is the European Union capable of confronting Russia alone?
According to the magazine, without the United States, the European Union has neither the military equipment nor the manpower necessary to confront Moscow in a high-intensity conflict. “The Europeans do not have the capacity to defend,” said Daniel Freed, a former US ambassador to Poland. “Defending the Baltics will require serious US military assets.”
While the Guardian said that a wave of anxiety has gripped European defense ministers and armed forces, as politicians and military leaders believe that Donald Trump, who is skeptical of NATO, could be elected as the next president of the United States, and that Russia may not be forced to leave or be defeated in Ukraine. This febrile mood has led to growing warnings that Europe may find itself embroiled in a war in Russia, even though Russia is currently involved in Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine depletes Western stockpiles of munitions, it appears increasingly likely that the US Congress will not vote on a new $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine as Republicans ramp up pressure on a swap deal to boost security on the US southern border, increasing pressure on countries. the Union.
However, there are very few serious efforts to boost European defense production to produce enough weapons or materials to meet Ukraine's current needs, let alone Europe's needs if it cannot rely on the United States for its defense.
Is the European Union ready for a new Trump era?
Foreign Policy says that European leaders may have woken up to the fact that it is time to make serious preparations to strengthen their defense in the event that Trump wins a second term. Besides whether the United States is finally able to provide aid to Ukraine, how Europe prepares for the possibility of the emergence of an American leader sympathetic to Putin could determine whether Kiev is able to survive Moscow's ongoing assault, let alone achieve a battlefield breakthrough that could thwart Putin's plans. To expand his attack east of the continent.
According to what was reported by Politico magazine , the former and perhaps future US president told European Union officials that he would not come to the continent’s aid if it was attacked. But for Europe, reversing decades of underinvestment in the military and rebuilding an industrial base will consume huge sums of money and take five to 10 years, several current and former military officials said.
Foreign Policy believes that even if Trump does not return to the White House, Europe cannot wait to see whether it is wise to strengthen its defense capabilities. Because significant investments in European defense capabilities are critical to meeting the security needs of modern Europe, they are unlikely to undermine NATO. It will only strengthen the transatlantic alliance and "enhance Europe's ability to stand up to the greatest military threat it has faced in 75 years."
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