Beirut (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell urged for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, while on a visit to the Lebanese capital for discussions.
The European Union’s High Representative/Vice-President of the EU Commission called on 24 Nov 2024 during a visit to Beirut for pressure to be wielded on both the Israeli government and on Lebanon’s Hezbollah to assume a US ceasefire proposal. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, insisted both Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal.
“We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” Borell expressed after meeting Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation steps on behalf of his partners in Hezbollah.
Josep Borell, speaking at a news conference in Beirut, stressed the urgent need for Lebanese leaders to resolve the country’s two-year political deadlock by electing a president. This move, he indicated, would assist in stabilizing Lebanon’s strained political landscape and he pledged 200 million euros in military support for Lebanon’s armed forces.
How effective is Borrell’s call for a ceasefire with Israel?
A week earlier, Josep Borrell stated he had “no more words” to describe the crisis in the Middle East before chairing his last arranged meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
“I exhausted the words to explain what’s happening in the Middle East,”
Borrell told reporters, barely suppressing his frustration at the EU’s failure to cogitate on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute during his five-year mandate.
“There are no more words,”
he stated.
“It’s about 44,000 people killed in Gaza, the whole area is being destroyed, and 70 per cent of the people being killed are women or children. The most frequent ages of casualties are children below nine years old,”
stated the foreign policy chief.
Moreover, Borrell urged ministers to suspend a political dialogue with Israel as part of a more comprehensive agreement governing trade ties over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
However, the proposal was rejected by numerous member states, including pivotal powers France and Germany, as well as Italy and the Netherlands.
