Israel cannot build peace ‘only by military means’, says Borrell

BRUSSELS: The EU’s foreign policy chief on Monday insisted on a two-state solution as he told Israel it couldn’t build peace “only by military means” ahead of talks with Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats.

The bloc’s 27 foreign ministers are set to hold separate meetings with their counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and key Arab states in Brussels.

Borrell repeated the condemnation from the United Nations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unacceptable” rejection of calls for a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza.

“What we want to do is to build a two-state solution. So let’s talk about it,” Borrell said.

He told Israel that “peace and stability cannot be built only by military means”.

“Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill off them?” Borrell said.

Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7 on Israel and the subsequent devastating military response from Israel has plunged the Middle East into fresh turmoil and sparked fears of a broader conflict.

But while the bloodshed appears to have driven a long-term solution further out of sight, EU officials insist now is the time to talk about finally resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The EU’s top diplomat said he had presented ministers from the bloc with a “comprehensive approach” towards trying to find a lasting peace.

The EU has struggled for a united stance on the conflict in Gaza as staunch backers of Israel such as Germany have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire made from the likes of Spain and Ireland.

EU officials have sketched out broad conditions for “the day after” the current war ends in Gaza, calling for no long-term Israeli occupation, an end to Hamas’s rule and a role for the Palestinian Authority in running the territory.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the death of about 1,140 people in Israel.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages during the attacks, around 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza.

Israel has vowed to “annihilate” Hamas in response and its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 25,105 people, mostly women and children, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza.