Brussels - Luxembourg: Europe and the Arabs
European Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell said upon his arrival at the headquarters of the European Union foreign ministers meeting today in Luxembourg that the issue of stubbornness between the Israelis and the Palestinians will be on the agenda of the summit of leaders of member states in Brussels at the end of this week. The European official thus avoided answering a question about the possibility of the ministerial meeting being held. With the results of dealing with the issue of escalation in the Middle East region, he also refused to hold any party responsible for the delay or lack of access of equipment to the Palestinians in Gaza. According to what was stated in a statement issued by Borrell’s office in Brussels, the European official stated that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, made an exciting appeal from Cairo to allow humanitarian aid to enter. On the first day, twenty trucks were allowed to enter - 20. Yesterday, the number was about 20 more trucks. But in normal times, without the war, 100 trucks would enter Gaza every day. So, 20 trucks is clearly not enough.
We have invited my colleague, Commissioner Responsible for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Janez Lenaričić, to participate in the Ministerial Council today, who will inform us. I was talking to him, and he explained to me that it was important to bring in more support – more humanitarian support – and that it was important to have fuel to run the power plants and the desalination plants. Otherwise, there is no water or electricity. Without water and electricity, hospitals can barely function. It is important to bring more, faster and in particular to bring in essential things that help restore water and electricity supplies.
We will also discuss the United Nations call for a humanitarian truce, which is also necessary, even for the return of the hostages.
Hamas rocket attacks throughout Gaza must stop. It is clear that the hostages and people who have been kidnapped must be released. It is part of any step towards de-escalation, and we have to start thinking about how to revive the political process. But the priority at the moment is to deliver humanitarian support to Gaza.
The European Commission and we - the European Union - have increased our support, but there are queues and queues of trucks waiting to get in. They have to go in, and they have to bring the things they need most, especially the fuel needed - I repeat - to desalinate water.
Then we have to discuss the political process. The peace process has been forgotten for too long. The great powers have forgotten the Palestinian issue, believing that it will be solved on its own or that it is not important - yes, it is important. Yes, we have to keep working on that. We launched this initiative [Peace Day Effort] during the UN General Assembly. Now, there is definitely a need to update it, and we will start discussing that.
Then Ukraine. Don't forget Ukraine. Ukraine continues to fight. It will be on the agenda.
In response to journalists' questions, he answered a question about bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Who has been the main obstacle so far to allowing aid into Gaza? Is it Egypt? Is it Israel?
“At that moment, Egypt is ready to allow all the lined up trucks to enter,” he said. “I don’t want to blame anyone, but the truth is that they are not entering.”
In response to another question about the issue of a ceasefire, is it on the table today or not? “It is clear that we will discuss a humanitarian pause,” Borrell said. “The matter was discussed a lot in Cairo, and the UN Secretary-General requested it. I am sure it will be on the leaders’ table at the next [European Council] meeting. How can we not discuss this matter? Of course we will.” that.

Question: Do you think that the battle of narratives in the Global South could be jeopardized by what is happening in Israel, and we could be accused of a double standard?
“Well, the Ukrainian war and this war have different causes and consequences, but both are sending shock waves around the world,” Borrell replied. “Russia is certainly taking advantage of this situation. The issue of double standards, which existed before the war in Gaza, is now coming back again. We have to We must be very careful to show the same concern to every civilian who is killed. We have to show the same concern.
We have shown our strong support for Israel because it has been [suffering] one of the biggest attacks against the Jewish people – this must be strongly condemned as we do so. But we must also take into account the innocent Palestinians who are being killed. They are also victims of Hamas. We must show exactly the same concerns for every civilian who is killed.

Regarding the question: Do you think that by the end of the day you will have a consensus on a humanitarian truce?
I cannot predict the outcome of the meeting, but it is certainly something that ministers will have to discuss, and I know that leaders will have to discuss it as well in a couple of days,” Borrell said. But the Secretary-General of the United Nations strongly requested this. I personally believe that a humanitarian truce is necessary to allow humanitarian support to enter [Gaza] and be distributed. I think half of Gaza's population has moved from their homes.