Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Israel Blocks Visit by EU Top Diplomat


Wed 15 Mar 2023 | 06:52 PM
H-Tayea

On Wednesday, Israeli's Foreign Ministry blocked the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell from visiting Tel Aviv, according to Haaretz.

This came following Borrell’s comments during a session of the European Parliament in which he warned against expanding Israeli Occupation settlements, in addition to the repeated raids in the West Bank and forced evictions in Jerusalem.

Recently, Borrell had expressed interest in visiting the Israeli Occupation and the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Occupation, however, showed a sign that they will not cooperate with the move.

An official in the Israeli Occupation Foreign Ministry said: “There's no reason to reward him [Borrell] for his conduct.”

Last week, Borrell published an article in which he criticized the Israeli Occupation. “Being honest means acknowledging that extremism is rising on both sides. Indiscriminate attacks and violence are taking many Israeli lives. Violence on the part of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is increasingly threatening Palestinian lives and livelihoods – almost always with impunity,” Borrell said.

“Moreover, Israeli military operations frequently cause civilian Palestinian deaths, often without effective accountability; illegal settlements are expanding on occupied land; and the delicate status quo concerning Holy Sites is eroding.”

Borrell added: “While Israelis can rely on a strong state and army, Palestinians have no such recourse. This vast inequality in the ability to control one’s destiny is visible at every roadside checkpoint. All these facts are obstacles to peace.”

Borrell addressed the European Parliament in a session on Tuesday on “the deterioration of democracy in Israel and the consequences for the occupied territories.”

The session came amid the ongoing protests against the judicial overhaul in the Israeli Occupation.