Ashraf AboArafe
Remarks by High Representative Josep Borrell at the press conference of the Informal Foreign Affairs Council (Development)
12.02.2024 – Brussels
We have been talking about other things before discussing the situation in Gaza, and hosting Mr [Philippe] Lazzarini [Commissioner-General of UNRWA]. Welcome.
We have been reviewing the mid-term of the financial perspective from the point of view of development assistance. It has been a long discussion about how to better use our tools in a multipolar and multi-crises world, and in particular our support to Ukraine.
We celebrated the €50 billion approved by the European Council which will cover the immediate budgetary needs of Ukraine – which apart from winning the war and fighting the war, has to win the peace. And to win the peace, they have to continue paying salaries, paying pensions, provide public services, do reforms in a very complex and challenging environment as I, myself, could witness on my trip to Ukraine last week.
Then, we went into the situation in the Middle East, [from] where alarming news are coming about the foreseen attack of the Israeli army against the South part of Gaza, where a lot of people – the concrete figures, Mr Lazzarini knows better than I, but we talk about hundreds of thousands of people – are being pushed against the Egyptian border.
We had an exchange with the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, and we agreed – I think that we agreed – on the absolute need to contribute to the work of UNRWA on protecting civilians.
Protecting civilians has been the work of UNRWA for many years, since 1949, when it was created to support the Palestinian refugees. Unhappily, many years later UNRWA has still to take care of millions of Palestinian refugees. Not only in Gaza, but in many other countries: in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, in the West Bank itself.
Currently, I can say – correct me Philippe, if I am wrong – more than 2 million people [in Gaza] depend on your support. [They] depend critically on your support. Only in Gaza.
In Gaza only, 700 [706] schools serve half a million of young people, half a million of children.
There are 140 health facilities that provide health assistance to 7 million people [patients’ visits] a year. These figures are impressive [and] this is only in Gaza. But let us go to Lebanon and you will see how many Palestinian refugees that cannot work [and] depend critically on the support provided by UNRWA.
The Ministers have welcomed the swift and decisive measures taken by [the] Commissioner-General and by the United Nations Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] to the allegations. I am saying “allegations”, and allegations have to be proven. But immediately, you took decisions about some members – 12 out of 30,000 – [of] staff allegedly being involved in the 7th of October terrorist attacks. A thorough investigation and a comprehensive review [as well as] an independent audit [will be] launched. It will be implemented in full transparency and cooperation with donors, and in particular with us which are the most important donors – the EU Member States and the European Commission.
Today, the Commissioner-General has once again given us the assurances that the United Nations is giving the issue all the importance it deserves, and it will ensure individual accountability. I am saying individual accountability, not collective punishment.
To discontinue the support to UNRWA would mean the interruption of vital services to millions of people in need, and a greater humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has to be avoided. Not only because it is a humanitarian imperative, but also because it would have dangerous repercussions on regional stability, and [it] would affect the Europeans too.
Let’s just act by [for humanitarian reasons].
Do not forget that UNRWA provides assistance [to]: in Jordan, 2 million [people]; in Syria, half a million [people]; in Lebanon, another half a million [people]; and in the West Bank, under great pressure, almost another million, 900,000 [people].
If this agency disappears, this will have a devastating effect on 5.6 million people. They are stateless, because there is no Palestinian state. And we could agree that the existence of UNRWA, 75 years after it was created, is something deplorable, but it is the responsibility of the international community, not the UNRWA workers.
There is only one way in which this agency can be dissolved. The agency should be dissolved when there is no more Palestinian refugee problem. If you cancel UNRWA, the refugee problem will still be there, but still worse.
So, let’s work for a solution which makes [it] possible [for] UNRWA [not to] continue working for the refugees from Palestine, because the problem has been solved through the creation of two states, not by cancelling UNRWA and making the problem bigger.
I think it is in everybody’s interest, including the Europeans’ and including Israel’s people, to preserve the role of UNRWA.
Certainly, there are different approaches. Some Member States have decided – very few – to suspend the support to UNRWA. But others, on the contrary, not only they have not decided to suspend it, but they have decided to increase it.
You know, it is a divisive issue among the European Union, but I think that everybody agrees that the work or UNRWA is something that cannot be interrupted.
Thank you.
Q&A
Just a clarification, Commissioner-General [Lazzarini]: Do you expect the investigation, rather than the review, to be concluded in time for the European Union to make an informed decision about whether to proceed with that next payment? In any other words, do you expect it by the end of the month, or the beginning of next month, so that that the European Union can make an informed decision on whether to proceed?
As you know, I am Vice-President of the [European] Commission, maybe you remember it. The [European] Commission has never asked for the investigation to finish but to be launched. Read the statement of the Commission. We asked for the investigation, in particular the one on the audit and the screening to be launched, because we are clever enough to understand that this cannot be finished in 20 days. So, to be launched means to be launched. To be finished means to be finished. And the statement of the Commission says clearly “to be launched”. And certainly, it is something that Member States will follow closely, because it is an important issue for our foreign policy.
What you said about the investigations being launched. You asked for pillar assessments. There was one done a year ago when, you remember in October as well, when Commissioner [for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér] Várhelyi asked that there was an inspection of all the Palestinian funds. UNRWA was looked at. Again, it seems really political, and I was wondering: we know there are divisions among Member States. It seems there are divisions within the Commission. Perhaps, Minister, you could tell us who are the countries that are making the biggest objection to moving forward on these funds that, we all agree, are quite desperately needed.
You said this morning, when talking about the US President Biden being worried about that Rafah operation, that maybe more than words are needed, and you talked about weapons. Could you maybe clarify? It is very timely because the Dutch government made a decision this morning about F-35 exports.
Regarding the weapons that you were suggesting during the doorstep, that maybe the United States should revise the selling of weapons to Israel, do you have any specific comments from Washington on that?
Look, my job is to try to unite Member States. My job is not to ‘blame and shame’ and say: ”Ah, someone said, others agree. Who is on the right side and who is on the wrong side.” My job – a difficult one by the way – is to try to put all Member States together in a common position, and I will not contribute to show the divisions amongst us, which are quite clear. [They are] quite clear because when the moment comes to vote in the United Nations about the ceasefire, I think 17 voted in favour, two voted against, others abstained. It is clear that there are different approaches, and about the funding of UNRWA, also there are different approaches – radically different. Some Member States – I will not name them – said, “I will increase my support.” And others say, “I cancel my support.” And others say, “I will not cancel it, but I will not launch new [support] until the investigation is done.” So, I have to manage these polycentric approaches among Member States. But if I have to take the common ground, if I have to look at the majority feeling, I think that the majority is clearly understanding the fact that there is no alternative to support the Palestinian people than what we have in place – and that has been in place for 70 years or more, with Hamas and without Hamas. I cannot imagine a magic wand to say that tomorrow someone will come and provide schools to half a million young people or provide food to 7 million people.
On the other hand, it is true that the Israeli government does not hide its will of cancelling the work of UNRWA – it is not a secret. It is not a secret. What I am saying is that allegations are allegations. In the first year of the law school, you are being taught that if someone is making an accusation, it is up to him to prove it – not the accused but the accuser. And for the time being, I have not received any proof of these allegations. Maybe it is true, maybe not. But the fact that since there is an allegation, people have to blindly believe the allegation, is against the elementary basis of law. And we are preaching all the time the rule of law. Well, I think I am not going to be accused of antisemitism for doing that but that is evident. And in spite of that, UNRWA has taken tough measures. But if Palestinian lives matter – and it certainly matters –, then we have to provide assistance. They have to provide assistance.
Look, I do not pretend to be in charge of the foreign policy of the United States, I have enough with the foreign policy of the European Union. But let’s be logical: how many times have you heard the most prominent leaders and the foreign ministers around the world saying, “Too many people are being killed”? President [of the United States, Joe] Biden said [that] this is too much on the top, it is not proportional. Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people [from] being killed. Isn’t it logical? In 2006, during the war against Lebanon, the United States already took this decision. They already took the decision to pause the supply of arms to Israel, because Israel did not want to stop the war. Exactly the same thing that happens today. Everyone goes to Tel-Aviv, begging: “Please, do not do that, protect civilians, do not kill so many.”
How many is too many? What is the standard? But [Prime Minister of Israel, Benyamin] Netanyahu does not listen to anyone. “They are going to evacuate.“ Where? To the moon? Where are they going to evacuate these people? So, if the international community believes that this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe they have to think about the provision of arms. And by the way, today a Court in the Netherlands has ordered the government [of the Netherlands] to stop exporting the spare parts of the F-35 fighter [jets] to Israel in order to be sure that the International Court of Justice’s rule is being implemented.
So, I do not know. Every Member States is an owner of its foreign policy. But it is a little bit contradictory to continue saying that there are too many people being killed: “Too many people being killed. Please take care of people. Please do not kill so many”. Stop saying “please” and do something.
Link to the video:
