Borrell Questions US’ One Month Ultimatum To Israel

The EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell has criticized the United States for giving Israel an entire month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Calling the situation a catastrophe, Borrell told reporters ahead of a European Union leaders’ summit, “One month delay at the current pace of people being killed. It’s too many people.”

US officials told Israel on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, that it must take steps in the next month to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid – the strongest warning since the war began a year ago.

Humanitarian groups have accused Israel of deliberately starving and forcibly displacing Palestinians in northern Gaza.

Also, Borrell stated that Israeli authorities are attacking the UN system.

“The UN is being attacked on all fronts by the Israeli government. Guterres is considered an anti-Semite, UNRWA is considered a terrorist organization and banned from operating on Israeli territory. The UN system is being attacked.”

Josep Borrell

Borrell expressed hope that the leaders of the 27 EU countries will take the UN issue seriously and condemn Israel’s attacks.

He also voiced hope that the Council will strongly condemn the attacks of Israeli forces against UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon). “I hope that the Council will take seriously the situation of the UN,” he said.

On October 2, 2024, Israeli authorities declared Guterres persona non grata, accusing him of supporting Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Iran.

A few days later, the Israeli parliament passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating in the country.

The bill was developed on the basis of information about the participation of the agency’s employees in the attack on Israel carried out by armed supporters of the radical Hamas movement on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli side has repeatedly stated that many UNRWA employees are simultaneously involved in the activities of the military wing of Hamas.

On October 10, 2024, UNIFIL reported that the Israeli military shelled its headquarters in Naqoura, injuring two peacekeepers. On October 11, two more peacekeepers were injured, and on October 12, one peacekeeper was shot.

Israel blamed the incident on Hezbollah militias, which it said were using the peacekeepers “as human shields.”

On October 13, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with a demand to immediately withdraw UNIFIL peacekeepers from the combat zone near the Lebanese-Israeli border.

EU Divided On Response To Israel’s War

Borrell has been a critical voice in the EU regarding Israel’s ongoing operations.

However, the bloc is divided on how to handle its response beyond urging for a ceasefire.

Speaking on arrival in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscored the differences in Europe, saying that Israel’s security should not be compromised.

He appeared to take a swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron, who has called for countries to stop supplying offensive weapons that can be used by Israel in Gaza.

“All criteria must be respected, such as international law. When it comes to monetary aid, which must go to Gaza, it’s about preventing the war from escalating further. However, it is clear that supporting Israel also means that we are constantly ensuring Israel’s defence capability, for example by supplying military goods or weapons.”

Olaf Scholz

Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister, Simon Harris said that the bloc was not doing enough and he would continue to work with Spain to change the dynamics among the 27-nation bloc.

He said that Europe has not yet used “every lever at its disposal” to bring a ceasefire.

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