Enough is enough

Finland to Israel: ‘Enough is enough’ in Gaza

The time for self-defense ‘is over,’ says Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA

Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the time for Israel’s “self-defense is over,” slamming the Israeli government for failing to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip and joining the chorus calling for an immediate cease-fire.

“Let me be very clear: enough is enough, the civilian population in Gaza needs an immediate humanitarian cease-fire,” Valtonen told German media group RND in an interview published Thursday.

Valtonen said Israel is “not doing enough to prevent” civilian casualties in the enclave, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 25,000 Palestinians according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.

In a follow-up social media post and e-mail, Valtonen later clarified her statement, saying she was talking about Israel’s right to “immediate self-defense.”

“Israel has, of course, the right to self-defense under international law, but the time for immediate self-defense is over. The civilians in Gaza need humanitarian aid as soon as possible, because many are suffering the worst hardship,“ she said on X.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had slammed Valtonen for her original comments on Thursday, in a letter addressed to the Finnish minister and seen by Finland’s national broadcaster Yle.

“If Finland ever experiences a similar crisis, rest assured that Israel will offer its support without opposing Finland’s right to defend itself,” Katz wrote in the letter.

‘People are starving’

The foreign minister also warned that the longer the war goes on, the more extremism will spread.

“The war in the Middle East has meant that an escalation is not only imminent, but has already occurred,” Valtonen said. “The situation is escalating, especially within states: extremist groups and terrorist organizations such as the Houthis on the Red Sea are gaining popularity. We have to stop that,” she added, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Yemen.

She is not alone in her criticism. Israel has been under growing pressure to find a way to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The European Parliament called last week for a “permanent cease-fire” in Gaza, conditional on Hamas releasing the hostages it took in a violent attack on October 7 — in which Israeli officials say more than 1,200 nationals and foreigners were killed and 240 taken hostage — as well as the full demilitarization of Gaza.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reticent to accept a cease-fire and has firmly and repeatedly rejected a two-state solution, despite pressure from the U.S. and the EU.

Valtonen said Netanyahu’s rejection of the two-state solution “does not bring us any closer to a solution to the conflict and peace.”

“Elections are coming up soon in Israel, and Israelis, like Palestinians, are longing for a future perspective that guarantees peace,” she said. “At the moment, there is no perspective, and Netanyahu has not presented an alternative to the two-state solution.”

Valtonen also urged Israel to open more border crossings to allow for the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged strip of land, where Israeli forces have allowed only limited supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine to reach the more than 2.3 million Palestinians living there.

“People are starving and lack clean drinking water — and that’s mainly because of Israel,” she said. “The many trucks with relief supplies from abroad must be allowed to cross the border and the food must be distributed to everyone.”