Israel: former High Representative Borrell criticizes the EU: ‘Half of the bombs dropped on Gaza are European’

Brussels – Now that the EU, with culpable delay, decided to proceed with a review of the association agreement with Israel, the former High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell – who already six months ago tried to insist on the suspension of the political dialogue with Tel Aviv – can get a few things off his chest. In an interview with the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, he stated that “half of the bombs that fall on Gaza are made in Europe” and that “if Europe wanted to, it could greatly influence Israel.”

The Catalan socialist, now president of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, was the only one among the leaders of the European institutions to openly denounce Israel’s violations of international law after October 7, 2023, and Brussels’ double standards. In the face of the silence of Ursula von der Leyen – who “showed very little empathy for the suffering of the Palestinians” – he tried to follow up on the request for a revision of the Association Agreement with Tel Aviv that Spain and Ireland had forwarded to the European Commission back in February 2024. That attempt failed due to the opposition of most member states at the time. The situation has now reversed, and 17 EU capitals (but not Rome) have supported the new request that the  Dutch government put on the table.

“Better late than never,” Borrell bitterly commented, pointing out that since Madrid and Dublin first raised the issue, “15 months have passed, and almost 30,000 more people have died.” Paradoxically, the Estonian liberal Kaja Kallas, much more cautious so far in her criticism of Tel Aviv, will now launch the verification of Israel’s compliance with its human rights obligations, provided for in Article 2 of the EU-Israel agreement, The European Commission’s internal services in cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS) will conduct the verification since the extensive agreement between Brussels and Tel Aviv covers several dimensions: for the political part, the High Representative and ultimately the EU Council is responsible, while the Commission covers the economic area.

And while any changes to the political terms of the agreement must be approved unanimously by the member states, a qualified majority would be sufficient to decide, for example, to restrict trade with Israel. “The Commission can propose this,” Borrell explained. “If Europe wanted to, it could greatly influence Israel.”

The former head of European diplomacy raised doubts about the possibility that Benjamin Netanyahu could be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity while emphasizing “the disappointment of seeing that in Europe, some countries welcome him with great honors.” The Israeli PM recently visited Hungary at the invitation of Viktor Orban, who simultaneously initiated the process for Budapest’s exit from the International Criminal Court. “Genocide is a legal definition that will have to be determined by a court of law, but I do not doubt that there is genocidal intent,” Borrell added, describing the Netanyahu-led executive as “the most religious and fanatical there has ever been in Israel.”

Whose weapons does Israel use in Gaza?

Borrell stated in the interview that “half of the bombs that fall on Gaza are made in Europe.” From October 7 to date, Israel has dropped over 100,000 tonnes of explosives on the Palestinian enclave. By November 2024, in one year of bombing, it had already exceeded the amount of explosives used during the entire Second World War.

Militarily, Israel is heavily dependent on supplies from Washington. According to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2020-2024, two-thirds of Israel’s arms imports came from the United States (66 percent). For the war in Gaza, SIPRI explains, Israel “made extensive use of weapons received in aid from the United States before October 7, 2023, particularly fighter planes.” However, in 2024, it continued to receive “substantial military aid” from the White House, including “missiles, guided bombs, and armored vehicles.”

The other two major arms suppliers to Israel are Germany, 33 percent, and Italy, 1 percent. Berlin delivers to Tel Aviv mainly armaments for the Israeli naval forces but also engines for armored vehicles used in the Gaza war. Most of what arrives from Rome, according to SIPRI, are light helicopters and naval guns. Italy also produces components for the American F-35s on which the Israeli defense forces fly.