France, Germany and UK call on Israel to lift aid restrictions on Gaza

An emergency meeting of the E3 countries – France, Germany and Britain – has produced a joint statement calling on Israel to lift humanitarian aid restrictions on Gaza to allow the UN to “take action against starvation”. While the E3 also called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza, it did not go as far as some hoped in condemning its actions or moving towards recognition of a Palestinian state. While France has said it would make that move in September, Germany, a strong ally of Israel, confirmed on Friday that it would not.