The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, defended the creation of the State of Palestine as the best security option for Israel and mentioned that he will present a plan for the future of Gaza to the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-seven. He stated this in a videoconference with the Twenty-Seven to report on his recent tour of the Middle East. The High Representative explained that he came to this “conclusion” after multiple contacts and hopes to commission the EU External Action Service to create a “document with options” for the future of Gaza. He aims to present this document to the ministers in December and use it as a basis for relaunching the two-state solution.
During his recent visit to Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, Borrell has been discussing the war in Gaza from a humanitarian perspective and reflecting on the aftermath of the Israeli offensive. He urged the Twenty-Seven to work diplomatically to achieve the humanitarian pauses approved by the United Nations Security Council in a resolution last week. He also warned of the risk of the crisis escalating to the West Bank or other parts of the region.
Borrell emphasized the importance of diplomacy and contacts in avoiding an uncontrollable escalation and stressed the need for rapid implementation of the UN resolution. He pointed out the case of a ship hijacked by Yemeni rebels in response to the war in the Strip as an example of the potential for escalation.