EU-Israel, it’s high tension. Borrell against Knesset decision: “If they don’t want two states, what do they want?”

Brussels – EU-Israel relations are becoming increasingly complicated, and twelve-star discontent with the Jewish state is growing. The decision by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, to say “no” to the establishment of a Palestinian state stiffens the positions of Europe, which continues to aim for a two-state solution. “If we want to build peace, a sustainable peace, we have to offer a political solution and a political horizon for the Palestinian people as well.” emphasizes EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on the sidelines of the European Political Community works: “Unfortunately, the Knesset voted against that, against the Palestinian state. Well, if they don’t want the two-state solution, what do they want?”

Borrell does not digest the orientation of the Jewish state. The numbers leave little room for the illusions of an EU that must come to terms with a partner that will not listen to reason. The Tel Aviv parliament rejected by 68 votes to 9 the creation of a Palestinian state, even as part of a negotiated agreement with Israel. “What is their solution?” insists a more than displeased Borrell. “If they reject this solution,” that of two states, “they have to propose another solution.” And thus, he asks polemically, “What are their plans for the millions of Palestinians living in the occupied territories?”

What worries the EU High Representative is the absence of alternatives, which means Israel is working to make the Palestinian territories the extension of the Jewish state. The exact opposite of what the European Commission has always been working for. The European Political Community then becomes the time to make a point. “I hope this topic will be discussed.”