Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the rest of his EU counterparts will discuss today by videoconference the recent tour of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in the Middle East.
The heads of diplomacy of the 27 EU Member States will participate this afternoon in an informal Foreign Affairs Council by videoconference convened by Borrell to report on his tour, which began last Thursday in Israel and concludes today, Monday, in Jordan, after passing through Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The tour has taken place in the context of the war against Hamas and the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel last October 7, and has taken into account the conclusions of the last meetings of the European Council and the Foreign Affairs Council.
The tour began on Thursday in Israel, where he met with President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, opposition leader Yair Lapid and other interlocutors. He also visited Kibbutz Be’eri and Re’im, located two kilometers from the Gaza Strip, which was attacked on October 7 by Hamas.
At the Kibbutz, Borrell was accompanied by Cohen, to whom he stressed “the solidarity of the European Union with the Israeli people” and reiterated “Israel’s right to defend itself, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law”. “Hamas must be defeated, but Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people”, he warned.
Later, the High Representative was received by President Isaac Herzog, to whom he expressed his “shock at the human suffering of the Israeli people,” but warned that he was “also” concerned about “the suffering of the people of Gaza,” who “are also victims of Hamas.” Separately, Borrell met with survivors of Hamas attacks and with the families of hostages still held in Gaza, as well as with members of the United Nations in Israel.
On Friday, Borrell met in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, with whom he told a press conference that the Hamas attack has also “harmed the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause” and reiterated that “Israel must respect international humanitarian law and the principle of proportionality”, because “one horror does not justify another horror”.
The High Representative reiterated the European Union’s calls for “immediate humanitarian pauses and greater access to humanitarian assistance” to Gaza, recalled the increase in EU humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and advocated “greater involvement of the European Union in Palestinian state-building as part of a two-state solution”. Borrell was also received by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki.
On Saturday, Josep Borrell participated in the inaugural session of the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, where he delivered a speech on War, Diplomacy and De-escalation together with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah. He also met in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
On Sunday, Borrell traveled to Qatar to meet with the Emir of Qatar and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. The mission concludes today, Monday, in Jordan, with meetings with King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
