Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has said that he had received preliminary approval from ministers to revive an EU civilian mission in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The EU is considering relaunching its European Union Border Assistance Mission (Eubam), which was suspended in 2007, to monitor the Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt.
“I have a green light from EU ministers to reactivate the Rafah border mission,” he said.
The Rafah crossing is the main entry point for aid to Gaza from Egypt and has been closed since Israel took control of the crossing from the Palestinian side nearly three weeks ago.
Speaking at a monthly meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Borrell stated that reviving the mission “could play a useful role in supporting the entry of people into Gaza, in and out.”
Borrell added, “But this has to be done in accordance with the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptians, and obviously Israel’s authorities.”
“We are not going to do that alone. We are not going to be the outsourcers of the security in the border. We are not a security company.”
Josep Borrell
Also, Borrell disclosed that EU Foreign Ministers agreed to call a meeting with Israel to discuss its actions in its military offensive in Rafah.
“We got the necessary unanimity to call for an association council with Israel to discuss the situation in Gaza,” he said.
The meeting with Israel would be held under an association agreement with the EU.
Spain and Ireland have called on the EU to review the agreement over Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Earlier, Borrell said that he was “horrified” by the Israeli airstrike on a camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah, which Gaza officials said killed at least 45 people.
He noted in a post on X that the Israeli strikes on Rafah prove that no place is safe in Gaza.
“These attacks must stop immediately,” he said.
He added that the interim orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop the Rafah invasion must be implemented, and international human rights law must be respected.
Separately, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan met with EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East.
“Safadi stressed the Kingdom’s absolute rejection of displacing Palestinians inside or outside their land,” the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said on X.
“He also stressed that stopping the Israeli aggression against Gaza, and starting to implement a comprehensive plan to end the Israeli occupation and achieve a just peace based on the two-state solution … is the only way to protect the region from the escalation of the conflict,” it added.
Netanyahu Calls Rafah Strike A Tragic Mishap
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu noted that the deadly Israeli strike on a displacement camp in Rafah is a “tragic incident.”
“In Rafah, we evacuated a million uninvolved residents, and despite our best efforts, a tragic incident happened yesterday [Sunday],” Netanyahu told parliament.
He added, “We are investigating the case and will draw conclusions.”
The Israeli leader added that “for us, every uninvolved [being hurt] is a tragedy.”
He claimed the incident occurred “despite our best efforts not to hurt them.”
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