The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, is not welcome in Israel and this was conveyed to him when the cabinet probed the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu about the possibility of an official visit. The news is advanced by the EFE agency, which cites official Israeli sources.
the israeli diary haaretz he goes further and mentions that there were several requests by Borrell to officially visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, but the position was always the same: no. According to the newspaper, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that “there is no reason to reward their conduct”.
EFE refers that, given the attempt of the office of the representative of European diplomacy to arrange the best date for the trip, the response of the Israeli executive was adamant: Borrell “will not be invited for an official visit”. However, if he wants to pay a personal visit, there will be no impediment on the part of the Israeli authorities, adds the Spanish news agency.
Tension between Israel and Brussels has been increasing because the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu considers that the EU’s position has not been balanced and that it tends to be pro-Palestinian.
On Tuesday, during a debate on “Deterioration of democracy in Israel and the consequences in the occupied territories” in the European Parliament, Borrell said that MEPs are free to discuss what they consider “important” and that just that morning he had spoken with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, who had referred to the unbalanced position of Brussels in assessing what is happening in Israel and in the occupied territories.
Cohen urged Europeans to bear in mind “the complex security situation in which Israel finds itself” in their views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I was worried and asked, once again, why the European Parliament interferes in Israel’s internal affairs and blamed me”, described Borrell to MEPs.
The representative of the diplomacy of the 27, added that he tried to explain to the Israeli minister, in a “very friendly way”, that it is “normal that the deputies are worried about the growing spiral of violence in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories” and talk about the “need from all parties to de-escalate the situation”.
Cohen also made known, through a statement, the content of the conversation with Borrell, saying that the EU’s positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are not balanced and only contribute to increasing violence.
Last week, on behalf of the 27, Borrell had asked the leaders of both sides to contribute to reducing the tension, this Tuesday he said that the situation is getting worse, but that it is necessary to work to “give security to Israel, freedom to the Palestinians and peace and stability to the entire region”.