EU worried about Israel’s unilateral measures

Middle East Monitor  /  January 16, 2023

The envoys of several EU countries have expressed concerns about Israel’s unilateral measures that will undermine the two-state solution, Haaretz reported on Sunday.

Since the Israeli election results were made known in November, EU states have expressed their fear that a far-right coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu will take unilateral measures that harm the internationally-promoted two-state solution. According to Haaretz, the EU envoys have expressed their concerns to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, “recalled known EU positions on the need to avoid unilateral actions and expressed strong concerns about the high number of victims” during his phone call with Cohen.

The Jerusalem Post reported Borrell as telling Cohen that “Israel is one of the EU’s closest partners in the Middle East.” He also said that they both face global challenges such as “Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, as well as Russia’s military cooperation with Iran.”

Haaretz added that the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, Austria, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus and Guatemala had all called Cohen to express concerns about actions that might “harm relations with the Palestinians.”