EU Representative cancels Israel visit, citing he was 'not wanted'

According to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahranot, Borrell, who had embarked on a regional tour covering Egypt and the Lebanese capital Beirut to discuss Israel's Gaza attacks, has canceled his visit to Israel.

It was stated that Borrell's visit to Israel was planned for September 14-15, but the Tel Aviv administration requested that this visit be postponed until the end of October, when the EU Representative's term ends.

It was shared that Borrell responded to Israel's EU Ambassador Haim Regev by stating that he canceled the program because Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz "did not want this visit."

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell had drawn the ire of the Israeli government, and particularly Foreign Minister Katz, due to his criticisms regarding Israel's attacks on Gaza, its occupation policies in the occupied West Bank, and the violence it inflicts upon Palestinians.

Borrell's request for the EU to impose sanctions on far-right figures in the Israeli government—National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—on the grounds that they resort to hate speech against Palestinians had angered Tel Aviv.

The EU High Representative had accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon by preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid during its attacks on Gaza.

News Source: AA