Borrell, who has been a harsh critic of Israel as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, making several anti-Israel statements especially since October 7, is set to end his five-year term next month.

 

EU foreign affairs chief  Josep Borrell on Thursday decided to cancel a visit to Israel  after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz refused him from entering the country for a state visit, Ynet news reported.

Borrell, who has been a harsh critic of Israel as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, making several anti-Israel statements especially since October 7, is set to end his five-yearnterm at the end of next month. Former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is set to succeed Borrell.

This week, Borrell, who is also Vice-President of the European Commission,  is visting Egypt and Lebanon. ‘’ The visit takes place against the background of the war in Gaza, where the catastrophic humanitarian situation and the fate of hostages make an urgent ceasefire ever more critical. The mission forms part of the EU’s continuous regional outreach to prevent further escalation,’’ the EU’s External Service said.

The top European diplomat told Israel’s ambassador to the EU, Haim Regev, that he decided to cancel his visit to Israel after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz refused to permit it, the Israeli media reported.

Asked about such a visit, during the midday briefing of the European Commission on Thursday, EU’s foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said that Borrell ‘’intends to visit Israel whenever it is possible.’’

Last month, Borrell, who is a former Spanish Foreign Minister, proposed the 27 EU member states to consider imposing sanctions against Israeli government ministers for ‘’hate messages against the Palestinians’’  but so far he couldn’t get the required unanimity for such a measure to be taken.

Questioned on this issue during his visit to Egypt, Borrell said that the Foreign Affairs Council ‘’discussed about it and decided to go to the technical bodies.’ ‘’It is still not a ‘Yes’, it is still not ‘No’. I do not know which will be the final result – I still do not know.  There are not only these two ministers, but also some agencies, some institutions which we believe are responsible for the illegal expansion of colonies (settlements) in the West Bank – which are also being proposed as sanctioned.’’

In March, Borrell accused Israel of “provoking famine” in the Gaza Strip, claiming that the Israel Defense Forces was using starvation as a “weapon of war.”

“Gaza was before the war the greatest open-air prison. Today, it is the greatest open-air graveyard,” Borrell claimed in separate comments. “A graveyard for tens of thousands of people, and also a graveyard for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law.”

This drew a rebuke from Foreign Minister Katz, who called on Borrell to stop bashing Israel and recognize its right to defend itself.

During his visit to Beirut on Thursday, Borrell called for a de-escalation of tensions on the Lebanon-Israel front.

“We must achieve a de-escalation of military tensions (…) I call on all parties to follow this path”, he declared at a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib.

He assured that the European Union (EU) was deploying “all diplomatic efforts to avoid escalation in the region”, but added that he had “no magic wand”.

“All-out war in southern Lebanon with an invasion has not happened (…) but the threat remains”, he said. .

During a joint press conference, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to the implementation of UN resolution 1701 which put an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Borrell visited the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south of the country.