Presidential candidate Pekka Haavisto. LEHTIKUVA
- Next Article Finland’s Youth Sector urges for ceasefire in Gaza to protect future generations
Finnish presidential candidate Pekka Haavisto has voiced his concerns over the dire situation in Gaza through social media, advocating for an immediate ceasefire. Haavisto strongly condemns Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel as criminal and in violation of international humanitarian law. However, he emphasizes that Israel is also bound by the same obligations under international law.
Haavisto underscores that the bombardment of civilians is against international law. “The same obligations of humanitarian law bind Israel in its actions against Hamas. International law dictates that civilians and civilian populations must not be targeted in armed actions. Bombing civilians is against international law,” Haavisto wrote.
He insists on the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza to end the cycle of retaliation causing suffering and death, particularly to children and other civilians.
Haavisto also highlights the deep-rooted nature of the conflict and the waning grip of the international community on the situation in recent years. He calls for renewed global engagement, emphasizing that “solving the Middle East situation requires active involvement from the entire international community. In recent years, the international community’s grip on the matter has weakened. Serious negotiations must resume. From experience, I know that negotiations are the only sustainable way out of conflicts. Peace in the Middle East cannot emerge without the involvement of the United States and key regional players. But the EU and its member states also play an important role.”
Furthermore, Haavisto believes that a two-state solution is the only sustainable resolution for Israel as well. He points out the necessity of acknowledging that lasting peace is unattainable without a functional Palestinian administration and the prospect of their own state. “The only way to ensure peace and the security of Israel is to implement the two-state model. The journey there is long and can truly begin only when the weapons fall silent,” he adds.
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- Next Article Finland’s Youth Sector urges for ceasefire in Gaza to protect future generations
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
