“Hamas was financed by the Israeli government in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority,” Borrell was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper El País.
In his speech Friday, Borrell — who is in charge of EU foreign policy — also stressed that creating a Palestinian state is necessary in order to solve the ongoing conflict, according to the report.
Borrell’s comments came just days before EU foreign ministers are scheduled to hold several meetings with their counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and key Arab countries in Brussels.
The ministers are going to discuss on Monday the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, where Israeli troops have been carrying out a relentless bombing campaign and ground assault for months, and the prospects for a future peace settlement.
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza — on the condition that Hamas be dismantled and all hostages released.
Borrell, who has been the EU’s foreign policy chief since 2019, has a long track record of undiplomatic moments, including when he compared Europe to a “garden” and called the rest of the world a “jungle,” and the time he tweeted out a sensitive extradition-related document from U.K. authorities
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This is an old divide and conquer strategy that they have been engaging in for a while now. The Israeli right needs to keep the public afraid of them to stay in power, and promise security that way. It's a stupid strategy if the goal is security, but the goal of theirs is far far more sinister.
I'm pretty sure Netanyahu miscalculated, he probably knew there will be an attack, but underestimated the scale of it. He was probably hoping to use that to strengthen his position and take off heat from his judicial reform programs, but he underestimated the extent of the attack.