Katrín Júlíusdóttir, MP and vice-chair of the Social Democrats, has called for an end to diplomatic relations with Israel in response to the current situation in Gaza.
“I want to go as far as to say that the time has come for us to break off diplomatic ties with Israel. What we have been doing up until now has not been working. In Israel there has been practiced for years and decades a policy of apartheid of a terrible sort where people are locked in with barbed wire fences. We are looking at a situation where one nation is rationing another land and necessities and we should not sit by quietly any longer,” Katrín said in an interview with RÚV.
Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, has called for an end to hostilities and for Israel to immediately cease strikes on Gaza.
The minister posted on his Twitter page yesterday a picture taken at Rådhuspladsen in Copenhagen where people gathered to protest Israeli strikes. The picture showed replicas of body bags symbolizing the loss of life suffered in the conflict. He captioned the picture: “Israeli’s killing of Palestinians protested at Rådhuspladsen in Copenhagen. Where is the so-called international community?”
Gunnar has called on the international community to take action to prevent further violence. “If this continues it can erode the credibility of international organizations and those states which should be able to end a situation such as this one,” he said in an official statement.
The head of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Birgir Ármannsson, said yesterday that the events of the past few weeks were chilling and that “the actions of the Israelis are not of the sort that will assist in reaching a peaceful solution.”
The committee has yet to issue an official position but will meet later this week to discuss the matter.
