Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537666
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION xx 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JULY 2025 Oh please, spare us the bleeding hearts on Gaza Editorial THE European Union's foreign ministers could not agree how to sanction Israel for its actions in Gaza deemed to be a breach of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The 27 foreign ministers had in front of them a list of 10 options last week on how to respond to Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The options included the suspension of vi- sa-free travel and the blocking of imports from the Jewish settlements. Instead, the foreign ministers agreed to "keep a close watch" on Israel's compliance with a recent agreement to improve humanitarian aid access in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel continues to kill Palestinians queuing for food at aid stations managed by its own military. Palestinian children in Gaza con- tinue to suffer malnutrition and hunger. People continue being displaced from one bombed out city to another, from one razed neighbourhood to another. Israel is using hunger as a tool of war. A geno- cide continues to unfold in front of our very own eyes. And yet, the best the EU could come up with was to 'keep a close watch' on Israel to see whether it will increase the number of trucks and distribution of food entering Gaza. What a joke! If the EU, particularly its member states, are unable to even see the humanitarian disaster be- ing perpetrated in Gaza and the blatant human rights violations taking place, and act on them in a meaningful way, it is no wonder the bloc is perceived as weak. The bloc's reaction to what is happening in Gaza does not match the high-sounding words of wanting the EU to be a global player that car- ries weight. This inability to decide, even in the face of what has been confirmed to be a breach of the EU-Is- rael association agreement, is precisely why Is- rael does not even look at the EU as a relevant power broker. Within this context, there is nothing that pre- vents the individual member states to go down their own paths and take measures to ostracise those in the Israeli administration who are re- sponsible for perpetuating the Gaza genocide. Malta, within its limitations, must not shy away from taking a tough stand against Israel. It's not enough to express concern and anger at the loss of life in Gaza; it's not enough to show solidarity by offering to host injured Palestinians; it's not enough to speak about peace in an abstract way. Malta must also point its finger at those who are causing this destruction and loss of life in Gaza by calling out Israel. Anything less, will make Malta just as complacent as Germany, Hunga- ry, Czechia—Israel's closest allies in the EU—in closing an eye to the suffering of Palestinians. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's sec- retary general, described the EU's refusal to sus- pend the agreement with Israel as "a cruel and unlawful betrayal" of the European project built on upholding international law and fighting au- thoritarian practices, of the EU's own rules and of the human rights of Palestinians. She added: "This will be remembered as one of the most disgraceful moments in the EU's his- tory." She is right. At the moment of need, the EU has turned its back on the Palestinians and while it sits on the fence, many more innocent lives con- tinue to be lost. And Malta is as guilty as the rest unless the indignation expressed by Prime Min- ister Robert Abela and Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg are translated into concrete action. But we are not surprised by this attitude from Malta's leaders. The Abela administration has been unable to even take the step to recognise Palestine as a state—a largely symbolic move that will have no appreciable impact on the ground in Gaza—de- spite promising to do so more than a year ago, let alone decide on a harsher approach to sanction Israel's top brass, push for an arms embargo and be more vocal in Brussels. Malta should be more proactive in seeking co- operation with Spain, Ireland and non-EU coun- try Norway—the same group Malta should have joined back in May 2024 to recognise Palestine— when contemplating action against Israel. Until this happens, Abela and Borg can spare us the words of pity and sorrow; they can stop mor- alising on how their hearts bleed over the death of children in Gaza. They can instead join the rest of their European counterparts taking turns in 'keeping a close watch' on Israel. Quote of the Week "It's about time that district police receive proper training on how to collect evidence and conduct a thorough investigation. Otherwise, all the work goes to waste once the case reaches court." Magistrate Monica Vella criticising the police for an incomplete investigation as she acquitted a man charged with damaging private property. MaltaToday 10 years ago Air Malta to move out of Skyparks in further cost-cutting 19 July 2015 AIR Malta intends to relocate its headquar- ters to its engineering de partment in Luqa. so as to save the money it is paying in rent for the SkyParks offices it moved into just three years ago to use as its head of fices. The national airline rentsits head quarters at the SkyParks Business Centre in Luqa as part of a "holis tic agreement" with the Malta In ternational Airport. An Air Malta spokesper- son refused to disclose how much rent it pays MIA for the offices, because such information is "commercially sensitive", the spokesperson said. He said that Air Malta has not yet adopted a specific timeline for the relocation, it intends to make the move once its finances improve. The airline only relocated its head quarters to SkyParks at the end of 2012 under then chief executive Peter Davies. Back then, the airline had described the move as part of a "much wider cultural revolution process aimed at cre- atinga new en vironment and company culture in which employees can workcollabo ratively and more efficiently to the best of their abil- ities". Davies had praised the layout of the SkyParks offices as one that would "offer Air Malta em- ployees an open plan environment where they can work in a brand new coprate setting that enhances productivity, teamwork and improve organisa tional communication." [...]