‘’Israel has the right to defend itself, but it has to be done according to the right of international law, humanitarian law. Some decisions are against this international law,’’ declared EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Speaking in Muscat, Oman, at a press conference following a special informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on the situation in Israel, Borrell
“Some of the actions [by Israel]— and the United Nations has already said it — cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people is against international law so yes, there are some actions that are not in accordance with international law.’’
Earlier, Borrell and EU Foreign Ministers had a meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states to discuss about their cooperation, ‘’but also about the dramatic moments that we are living since last Saturday, when Hamas attacked Israel, with mass murders of civilians and kidnapping people.’’
In his statement to reporters, Borrell said: ‘’ I can say that the ministers have endorsed our communicationvwith the Gulf Cooperation Council. The elements of this Communication have been retaken by the EU ministers once and again. All of them said what we have said in our Communication: condemnation of terrorist attack, condemnation of any attack against civilians; release of hostages; protection of civilians; respect of international humanitarian law – and it means no blockage of water, food, or electricity to the civil population in Gaza – to open humanitarian corridors; to facilitate people who have to escape the bombing from Gaza. They could leave the country through Egypt – because the Israeli border is closed.‘’
Borrell also sought to draw a line following the controversy around Monday’s announcement by European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi that EU aid to the Palestinians would be suspended. The EU foreign policy chief instead spoke of a ‘’review’’ of the aid that has been launched by the European Commission. ‘’Such review should not delay funding to the Palestinian Authority,’’ he said.
‘’The overwhelming majority was against the idea or the proposal of suspending the payments to the Palestinian Authority. This is the thing that matters. If they consider that a review has to be done, we will do a review, but this does not mean that support to the Palestinian Authority has been suspended or the payments cancelled,’’ Borrell noted.
“The humanitarian situation is dire. We will have to support more, not less,” he said.
The EU is the biggest donor of aid to Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip, which is under the tight control of Hamas, and the West Bank, which is partially governed by the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.
The majority of development funds go into “state-building” projects in the West Bank, including rule of law, healthcare, education and salaries of civil servants, while humanitarian aid goes to both sides.
Borrell mentioned that some member states ‘’want to do a review of how this support is being implemented, who is receiving it, in order to be sure that there is no link between our support and Hamas’ terrorist activities.’’
According to Politico, ‘’while Borrell’s comments broadly align with previous EU statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at times of heightened conflict by calling for respect for international law and restraint from all sides, the scale and ferocity of the latest Hamas attack on Israel has prompted some voices within the EU to call for Brussels to show more solidarity with Israel.’’
Despite being invited, Israeli and Palestinian representatives did not participate in the meeting.