In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell refused to describe Israel’s bombing and killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip as “war crimes,” stressing that the Union is working to stop the war in Gaza.
He said in response to a question about the atrocities committed by Israel against the residents of Gaza: “I am not a lawyer, and there is the International Criminal Court, which will undertake the investigation, and several countries have asked this court to open a case.”
On the other hand, Borrell did not hesitate to describe the operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance last October 7 as a “war crime,” and said, “What happened was a clear killing of civilians without any reason.”
He also avoided answering the question about whether Palestinians have the right to self-defense, and merely said: “What happened in the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) was terrifying, and what is happening in Gaza is terrifying… both are terrifying things.”
While he said that he does not practice double standards in his dealings with Israel and the Palestinians, Borrell believed that Israel has “the right to defend itself,” but it must take into account international law, as he put it.
He said that isolating the population in the Gaza Strip and cutting off water and electricity from them is not consistent with international law, stressing that civilians must be protected, as well as hospitals and schools.
On the other hand, the European official revealed – in statements to Al Jazeera – that the Union provides humanitarian support to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and is working to stop the ongoing war.
He added that the Europeans have an air bridge to transport aid to the residents of Gaza, and are trying to impose political pressure to make the war conducted in accordance with international law. He said, “We are trying to stop the war because it causes many civilian casualties.”
Regarding the fate of the sea corridor that some Europeans talked about to transport aid to Gaza, he described the idea as good because it would be easier than the land corridors, but so far that has not happened.
Commenting on what was reported by the Israeli Haaretz that preliminary investigations by the Israeli police indicate that an Israeli military helicopter opened fire on Israelis at the concert that was being held in the Gaza Strip in conjunction with the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, the European official indicated that many Question marks are raised in wars and many are killed. He said that he read what was stated in the Israeli newspaper, but he does not have information in this regard.
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2023-11-19 22:34:23
