David Ben-Basat
Jerusalem Post, Sept. 8, 2024
“Borrell is a Spanish-Catalan politician known for his anti-Israel stance and for endorsing the demands of the leaders of Ireland, Spain, and Belgium to take steps against Israel.”
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Josep Borrell will conclude his term in October. Obsessed with Israel, last week, he sought to convene the Steering Committee on Israel-EU relations to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers and demand an end to the war in Gaza. As expected, Borrell failed in his attempt to sanction Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, after the foreign policy ministers of several countries opposed the move.
From the outset, Borrell’s initiative had little chance of garnering the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU member states required for passage. Many countries opposed Borrell’s actions, including Israel’s close allies Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Borrell’s attempt to pass a series of anti-Israel resolutions had been thwarted thanks to the efforts of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who spoke with the foreign ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and other countries about blocking Borrell’s initiative. Katz, in turn, thanked “the talented diplomats of the Foreign Ministry,” adding, “We will continue to work with all our might for the benefit of the State of Israel.”
He stated: “After round-the-clock diplomatic efforts and thanks to our friends in the European Union, we managed to block the distorted attempt by EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell and a few other countries to pass a series of anti-Israel resolutions at the EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting.” [To read the full article, click here]