The EU foreign affairs chief warned that “if this tragedy doesn’t end soon, the whole Middle East could end up in flames.’’

The international community must impose a solution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as the warring parties are unable to reach an agreement, declared EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“I think we’ve learned over these 30 years that the solution has to be imposed from outside because the two sides will never be able to reach an agreement,” he said on Wednesday at a diplomatic seminar in Lisbon organized by the Portuguese foreign ministry.

He also warned that “if this tragedy doesn’t end soon, the whole Middle East could end up in flames.’’

The war spread to Lebanon on Tuesday, with the killing in Beirut of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone attack. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied killing al-Arouri.

The killing of Arouri, founder of Hamas’s military wing,  is yet another sign that the nearly three-month war between Israel and Hamas is spreading throughout the region, dragging in its wake the West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Israeli-Lebanese border and even the Red Sea shipping lanes with attacks from the Houthis, another Iranian proxy. A series of attacks on commercial vessels by the Houthi rebel group, which controls part of Yemen, prompted the United States to deploy a naval mission to the region.

On Monday, the US Navy killed ten Houthi militants attempting to sabotage a ship operated by Denmark. Iran responded by sending a warship to the Red Sea, heightening fears of further escalation.

“What happened yesterday with the death of one of the Hamas leaders is a further factor that could lead to an escalation of the conflict,” said Borrell, adding that he intended to visit the Middle East, including Lebanon, to “explore ways out” of the conflict.

Borrell also said he would present EU member states with a proposal to create a mission to contribute to security in the Red Sea. The proposal is expected to be presented on Thursday and would require unanimity from member states to be implemented, he said.

In his speech, Borrell also lamented that the European Union had been unable to adopt a unanimous position calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

“At the European Summit (last month), we were unable to reach a unanimous position in favor of a ceasefire,” explained Josep Borrell. “Instead, we settled for a summary agreement, calling for humanitarian pauses and an increase in aid to victims”.

“There is no unanimous solution or position, and this weakens us (the EU)”, he said.

A UN General Assembly resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, passed in December, was supported by a majority of the 27 EU member states. Austria and the Czech Republic, two staunch allies of Israel, were the only countries to vote against the resolution, and have consistently expressed concern that a joint EU call for a ceasefire would undermine Israel’s efforts to eradicate Hamas.

The persistence of the war has gravitated towards calls for greater restraint, with a major shift in rhetoric on the part of EU countries like France. Other countries, such as Belgium, Spain and Ireland, advocated a ceasefire in Gaza in the early stages of the conflict.

Josep Borrell has previously suggested that a series of permanent pauses in hostilities should “evolve” into a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Comparing the firm stance of the European bloc and the strong support given to Kiev after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Josep Borrell warned that Europe’s accusation of double standards was “taking shape”.

“Europe’s clear and firm position on the war in Ukraine is not shared by many countries around the world, who immediately accuse us of having variable-geometry principles – what they call double standards,” he said.

“And I think that unless we close our eyes and ears, it’s hard not to face this contradiction,” he added.

Josep Borrell also said that the fact that EU countries must constantly ask Israel to respect international humanitarian law in its assault on the Gaza Strip suggests that Israel is not acting within the bounds of the law.

In October, Borrell, the E.U.’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, slammed Jerusalem’s actions against Hamas and appeared to call for a ceasefire, leading to criticism from Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg for disregarding the wording of an E.U. statement from Oct. 26.

E.U. leaders had gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting, during which they condemned Hamas in the strongest terms and called for “pauses for humanitarian needs.”

However, Borrell appeared to twist the statement’s wording into a condemnation of Israel, tweeting, “Far too many civilians, including children, have been killed. This is against International Humanitarian Law.”

The E.U. statement did not say that Israel had acted against international law, but rather that Israel had the right to defend itself in accordance with international law.

Borrell on Wednesday also called for a “pause of hostilities,” an apparent reference to a ceasefire, whereas the E.U. statement was less explicit.

Following a November tour of Kibbutz Be’eri, where Hamas terrorists murdered more than 100 people during their Oct. 7 assault on the northwestern Negev, Borrell implored Israelis “not to be consumed by rage.”

“I understand your fears and pain. I understand your rage. I understand the fears and pain of the people that have been attacked, slaughtered, kidnapped. But let me ask you not to be consumed by rage,” he said.

Borrell touched upon the situation in the Gaza Strip, where he claimed that “innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have died in the past weeks.”

“One horror does not justify another. … I think that is what the best friends of Israel can tell you,” he declared.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (left) and E.U. foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell visit Kibbutz Be’eri, Nov. 16, 2023. Credit: Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Borrell became persona non grata in Israel in March, when officials signaled that he wasn’t welcome and that they would refuse to meet with him if he came for a visit following comments he made equating Palestinian terrorist attacks with operations undertaken by the Israel Defense Forces.

In an article that month, Borrell wrote that “violence on the part of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is increasingly threatening Palestinian lives and livelihoods—almost always with impunity.”

Borrel is a longtime critic of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank.

In 2019, while serving as Spain’s foreign minister, Borrell admitted having participated in an antisemitic attack as a child in the 1950s, according to Spain’s El Confidencial website. Armed with rattles and noisemakers, the European diplomat joined in shouts of “Kill Jews,” he told a Holocaust remembrance ceremony.

“When I remember it now, it is easier for me to understand Auschwitz,” he said.

JNS contributed to this report.