Senior European Union (EU) diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday, the 13th of November, that Israel cannot remain in Gaza after the war, echoing a similar warning by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The statement came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier announcement that Israel would assume “overall responsibility for security” in the Gaza Strip indefinitely, reports Politico.
Borrell also announced on Monday that he will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories this week. This will be Borrell’s first visit to Israel since he became EU foreign minister four years ago.
In the first month of the Israeli-Hamas war, Borrell repeatedly criticised the situation in Gaza on social media, saying it was “against international humanitarian law” and calling for a “cessation of hostilities” to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid. His stances surpassed the collective endorsement agreed upon by EU countries, according to Politico.
Before his visit Josep Borrell, expressed his post-war perspectives at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. He shared the proposed framework of three no and three yes and announced that
ministers agreed to support this approach.
According to Borrell, post-war Gaza cannot be reduced, Gaza cannot be permanently reoccupied by the Israel Defense Forces, Palestinians cannot be forcibly expelled from Gaza, and Gaza cannot be separated from the overall Palestinian problem.
Borrell stressed that Gaza must return to Palestinian self-rule defined by the UN Security Council and that the Arab countries and the EU must be involved in the establishment of a Palestinian state in the region.
“We have done too little to solve this problem and have instead left it to the US,” according to Politico Borrell said at the end of his speech.
Read also: Israel says it is open for humanitarian pauses in Gaza