On Friday, the European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, publicly accused Israel of financing the Palestinian Hamas movement.
A Spanish newspaper quoted Borrell as saying: “Hamas was funded by the Israeli government in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority.” El Pais. Borrell was speaking at the University of Valladolid in Spain, where the Spanish politician received an honorary doctorate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied such accusations in the past.
In his speech on Friday, Borrell – who is in charge of EU foreign policy – also stressed that the creation of a Palestinian state is necessary in order to resolve the ongoing conflict. “The only solution is to create two states that share the land they have been dying for for 100 years,” Borrell was quoted as saying. He added that such a solution must be “imposed from the outside.”
The Israeli government responded strongly to Borrell's accusations.
“Mr. Borrell is wrong. Far from seeking to strengthen Hamas, as the EU foreign policy chief claimed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dealt harsh blows to Hamas in three large-scale military operations; : “In the years 2012, 2014 and 2021.” “After the October 7 massacre that killed more than 1,000 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage, Mr. Netanyahu’s warlike government directed the Israeli army to destroy Hamas.”
Borrell's statements came just days before European Union foreign ministers were scheduled to hold several meetings with their counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and major Arab countries in Brussels. On Monday, the ministers are scheduled to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been carrying out a sustained bombing campaign and ground offensive for months, as well as the prospects for a future peace settlement.
Meanwhile, the European Union is set to announce new sanctions on Hamas on monday Three European Union diplomats told Politico that the attacks aimed to hit the armed group's funding sources.
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza – on the condition that Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are released. The decision came a few days after Israeli Netanyahu rejected the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state, and thus rejected the effort of the United States and the European Union to establish a Palestinian state.
Allegations that the Netanyahu government allowed financing of Hamas, including by allowing Qatari funding for Gaza, have been made previously by the Israeli opposition as well as by analysts and media outlets including Hamas. The New York Times. Israeli officials say this is part of a policy endorsed by most prominent Israeli politicians as a potential means of placating Hamas with the basic assumption that the militant group will moderate its ideological fervor and encourage it to focus on governance.
“Israel has allowed bags containing millions of Qatari dollars to enter Gaza through its crossings since 2018, in order to maintain the fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which rules the Strip.” Editorial The Times of Israel claimed this on October 8, a day after Hamas carried out violent attacks against Israel.
Netanyahu strongly denied allowing Qatar to fund Hamas in order to divide the Palestinians into competing political camps. But the Israeli leader It was said in 2019 At a Likud Party conference: “Anyone who wants to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state must support the strengthening of Hamas.”
Borrell, who has been the EU's foreign policy chief since 2019, has a long record of undiplomatic moments, including when he likened Europe to a “garden” and described the rest of the world as a “jungle,” and his time as EU foreign policy chief. chirp A sensitive document related to extradition from the UK authorities
Jamie Dettmer contributed reporting.
This article has been updated.
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