NATO CHIEF: ISRAEL HAS ‘RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF’ BUT EXPECTED TO BE ‘PROPORTIONATE’

Wed 11 October 2023:

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said Israel has the “right to defend itself” but added that any response was expected to be “proportionate.”

On the most recent developments in ongoing clashes between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel, Stoltenberg said it was “important as this conflict continues to do whatever is possible to prevent the loss of innocent civilian lives.”

In a briefing after the first day of a defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, he said members of the alliance had the capability to address the situation in the Middle East, adding that several of them had “provided support intelligence, all the types of support, to Israel.”

“NATO allies, we have the capability, the strength to address different challenges at the same time. We don’t have the luxury of choosing only one threat and one challenge,” he said, asked whether the current clashes, which erupted early on Saturday, would shift international focus from Ukraine.

“I think it was also an important message that any nation or organization hostile to Israel should not try to utilize the situation we now see. And we also see that for instance, the US has increased his military presence in the region to also send a clear message of deterrence to prevent escalation this conflict,” he said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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