EU foreign ministers urge calm in Middle East

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (17 July) will discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East and are expected to call on both Palestinians and Israelis to exercise restraint.

A statement issued on 3 July urged Israel to "avoid disproportionate action" and called for the release of Israeli army captain Gilad Shalit.

Finnish permanent representative to the EU, Eikka Kosonen, said that officials were working hard to monitor the situation and to prepare steps beyond Monday's meeting.

The European Commission will provide Gaza hospitals with fuel at an estimated cost of 600,000 euro a month, following the Israeli destruction of parts of the Gaza Power Plant, it was agreed on Tuesday (11 July). The money is the first provided by the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), set up by the EU in May to provide emergency funding to Palestine for healthcare, utilities and social allowances.

The EU-monitored border crossing between Egypt and Gaza at Rafah has been closed since 25 June when Shalit was captured.

The Rafah mission, which costs the EU around 28,000 euro a day, has created a vital economic link to the outside world, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to leave and enter Gaza since it began operating in November 2005.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (17 July) will discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East and are expected to call on both Palestinians and Israelis to exercise restraint.