22 January,2009 01:41 PM IST | | AP
Israel and the EU today debated the way forward after the Gaza war, with the Europeans pushing for a lasting cease-fire and smooth access for humanitarian aid and Israel asking for European help to stop arms-smuggling into the devastated area.
As Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met her EU counterparts in Brussels, European officials said it was crucial for the cease-fire to hold and for Israel to allow aid into Gaza in significant and sustained amounts.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters a permanent cease-fire must be the aim as Europe and Israel pursue a "reopening of border crossings" and, in a second stage, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Livni made no comment on arrival at the EU head office. "The situation is fragile," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security chief, told reporters ahead of the meeting.
"It is very important that the (Gaza) border crossing are opened." He said the EU was ready to send monitors back to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
That mission began in 2005 and oversaw the crossing of 444,000 people during an 18-month period. It was suspended in June 2007 after Hamas--which the EU and the US consider a terrorist organization--seized control of Gaza.
Solana said the EU was ready to return to Rafah and other border points provided the cease-fire is maintained.
Next Sunday, the EU will meet in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.
