2023-10-19 07:43:05
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union interior ministers met Thursday to discuss the impact on the bloc of the war between Israel and Hamas, following a firebomb attack on a Berlin synagogue and murders in Belgium and France by alleged Islamic extremists.
Sweden hosted a summit of ministers from eight countries, including Germany, Belgium and France, focused on how to handle incidents in which people burn Islam’s holy book, the Koran.
Prosecutors are trying to establish whether that was a key motivation for a Tunisian man who shot three Swedes in Brussels on Monday, killing two of them before a soccer match between Belgium and Sweden in the capital.
Although the Koran desecrations are not directly related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, they are a reflection of growing tensions between religious groups and other communities in Europe.
The war that began on October 7 has become the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides. The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 wounded in the past 11 days.
More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and at least 199 more, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
“We must address multiple impacts of the continuing crisis in the Middle East, and part of that is addressing all possible consequences for us in the European Union,” said European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas.
“This involves the protection of our Jewish communities, but also protection against a general climate of Islamophobia that has no place in our society,” he told reporters in Luxembourg, where the meeting was being held.
Since the war began, pro-Palestinian marches have been recorded in several European countries. France has banned them. Germany has also promised tougher measures against Hamas, which is already included on the EU list of terrorist organisations.
After two firebombs were thrown at the Berlin synagogue on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “we will never accept attacks against Jewish institutions.”
In France, the Palace of Versailles — a major tourist attraction — and three airports were evacuated and temporarily closed for security on Wednesday. The incidents added to a series of evacuations following threats in the past five days in France, following the murder of a teacher in the northern city of Arras last Friday by a suspected Islamist extremist.
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