UPDATE - EU must speak 'with one voice' regarding Gaza, Belgian foreign minister says

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S REMARKS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Nur Asena Erturk

The European Union must speak "with one voice" regarding the situation in Gaza, Belgium’s foreign minister said Monday.

"We are all in favor of peace, whether in the Middle East or Ukraine, but we must work for a just peace, a peace that is not an abdication, a peace that does not mean a victory for those who still believe that the rule of the strongest can prevail," Hadja Lahbib told reporters before attending the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

"The EU must speak with one voice and we are in a position where we can only defend the rule of law, democracy, and this is a decision of an international court of justice, so we have to follow that," the minister added.

She also condemned the Israeli parliament’s (Knesset) decision last week to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying that it would be an "existential threat" to Israel.

Lahbib stressed the need for a durable and just peace, and a peace process that would lead to the two-state solution.

Welcoming the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on West Bank settlements, she said: "We invite the Israeli authorities to comply with this ICJ decision."

The EU foreign policy chief, for his part, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bending history and court opinions in his country’s favor.

Netanyahu's government rejected the recent advisory opinion of the ICJ on West Bank settlements, Josep Borrell told reporters on his arrival at the meeting.

"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.

Lahbib, for her part, vowed continuous support for Ukraine in the long haul.