EU foreign policy chief slams Israeli premier for bending history, court opinion in Israel's favor

By Nur Asena Erturk

The EU foreign policy chief on Monday criticized the Israeli prime minister for bending history and court opinions in his country’s favor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government rejected the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on West Bank settlements, Josep Borrell told reporters on his arrival at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

"Well, you can interpret history whatever you want, but we are talking about international law, and you will respect international law," he lashed out.

He stressed that the advisory opinion said the "occupation of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank is fully illegal and it has to stop."

The ICJ, "the highest legal body of the United Nations," sent a "very clear message," according to Borrell.

"Politics have been unable to look for a solution, but the court is not there to implement their opinion. Opinions have to be implemented by the political powers," Borrell slammed.

The EU foreign policy chief also deplored the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip under Israeli attacks, including "17,000 orphans, almost 40,000 people being killed."

"In order to rebuild Gaza, it will need 10 years of taking rubble out,” Borrell said, and noted that the cease-fire plan backed by US President Joe Biden has not been implemented yet.

The EU official vowed that during the meeting, he would "put on the table again" the possible actions to take.

The top UN court ruled on Friday that Israel should end its occupation of the Palestinian territories "as rapidly as possible," while also calling on Tel Aviv to make full reparations for its "internationally wrongful acts."

The court found multiple breaches of international law by Israel, including activities that amounted to apartheid.

Netanyahu, for his part, said on X: "The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), our historical homeland."

"No absurd opinion in The Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home," he added.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also rejected the court’s opinion, calling it "fundamentally wrong."

Since Tel Aviv launched its brutal war on Oct. 7, over 38,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, while more than 89,600 others are injured, according to Gaza’s local health authorities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

- Situation in Ukraine

Borrell also emphasized that the electrical infrastructure in Ukraine was suffering from attacks and that the situation would aggravate in the winter.

"70% of the power generation capacity in Ukraine is being destroyed. We are in the summer, but in the winter, this will be much more difficult to bear, so I will call the member states to provide more support to rebuild and substitute the electricity grid with more power generation," the EU foreign policy chief said.

He also highlighted the need for Ukraine to intensify its air defense.

"European Union is supporting Ukraine and willing to finish this (Moscow-Kyiv) war on the basis of United Nations Charter. … European Union is not pushing for war," Borrell noted.