Ashraf AboArafe
In a press statement by High Representative/Vice-president Josep Borrell at the Rafah Border Crossing, he praised all participants in helping the affected Palestines and condemned who are responsible for the crisis as follows:
Rafah, Egypt
Hello, good afternoon to everybody.
Thank you, Governor, for your welcome. Thank you to the representatives – above all, everybody who is working here – the [Egyptian] Red Crescent [Society, (ERCS)], United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the European Union [Civil Protection and] Humanitarian Aid [Operations]. [And] many others. I will not mention all of them, but there are a lot of people here working, trying to support the people in Gaza.
You see, I am used to having a look at this place through satellite images. I see the Rafah crossing almost every day, through the eyes of the satellites.
I know that there are thousands of trucks waiting to enter, per days, per weeks, per months.
And I know that they are ambulances – these yellow and blue cars – waiting to receive the wounded people. But one thing is to see that from the satellite images, and another thing is to see it live, one truck after the other.
Today, 1,400 trucks waiting to enter. On a good day, maybe 50 will come in. In Ramallah time, they were 600 per day. This is a drop in the ocean of needs on the other side.
And I have to thank all of you, and to praise the work of the Egyptian government. All the work you are doing here; you, the governorate, the Egyptian army, all the workers of humanitarian organisations, the United Nations Organisation – which do irreplaceable work to face the dramatic situation that is happening 500 metres from here.
I want also to stress the importance of the support of the European Union. I want to stress the importance of the number of planes landing in the airport close [to] here, the amount of money, the amount of physical support that we have been providing.
The European Union has done an incredible effort in order to provide supplies. But now the supplies are not entering; they are just stuck.
Yes, we have done a lot. Member States of the European Union and European Union institutions have done a lot, in order to provide humanitarian support to the people in Gaza.
But what is happening just at the other side of this wall is not a crisis created by nature. It is not a flood. It is not an earthquake. It is not one of those crises that nature creates from time to time, and we cannot prevent or avoid. It is a human-made crisis. A human-made tragedy.
Yes, it started with a terrorist attack of Hamas, almost one year ago. And it was a horror that we have condemned in the strongest possible terms. We continue condemning [it]. But one horror cannot justify another horror.
What is happening in Gaza today is another horror. It is not just a matter of defending, it is, I think, a massive violation of human rights. The European Union will continue supporting the Palestinians, but at the same time, knowing that we have to look for a political solution. Because to feed someone with a dinner tonight, in order to be killed tomorrow, is not exactly the solution.
We have to provide humanitarian support because it is urgent and necessary, and we have to do more and quicker. We do a lot – allow me to say – but certainly not enough, and certainly not as quick as needed. In particular, because there are too many obstacles.
I learned that the energy bars – which is the best way of feeding, the less weight and the less volume for the same amount of calories – have been rejected at the border, because they consider that it is a luxury product. We will see the item that has been rejected and they are still being rejected.
It is important for me to be here, in order to take stock of the situation, and to bring back to Brussels how this is a dramatic situation that has to be solved by political means.
Today, the most urgent thing is to make these ambulances enter or receive the wounded people. That is why the European Union is ready to present their capacities, to offer their logistic capacities to re-open this border. To have the European staff deployed in the other side of this border, in order for the border to be open, and the wounded people to be able to go through the border to a hospital. And the humanitarian support to come inside, and the people going in and out. In particular, the people in need.
But we have to continue asking for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and the stop of the bombing. Ceasefire: this is a call that we, from the European Union, my fellow ministers, colleagues, Ministers of the Foreign Affairs Council are doing.
Unhappily, the negotiations are not going as quickly – how can I use the word “quickly” when they have been stalled for weeks and months?
This is a nice and good experience, an important experience. I think that we, politically responsible , we have to put our boots on the ground in order to know how things happen.
Once again, thank you to all of you, Governor, thank you for your welcome.
Q&A
Q. On the ceasefire, what can the European Union do to put pressure on all sides, specifically on the Israeli Prime Minister, to adopt the ceasefire and to stop the war in Gaza?
The European Union can use its diplomatic tools. Some days ago, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany [Annalena Baerbock] was visiting Israel and asking for this ceasefire to happen and asking for a stop to the violence in the West Bank. We can put our political and diplomatic pressure on the Israeli authorities, but our capacity is limited. We do what we can. The United States also is doing what they can. But something goes wrong here. I do not understand why the ceasefire has still not been reached. Someone is procrastinating.
Q. Were there any discussions with the Egyptian counterparts on having peacekeeping troops in the border?
We are still not there. We are very far away, unhappily, from the possibility of deploying troops from one [side] or the other. Certainly, we have to avoid that Gaza becomes a new Mogadishu. A Mogadishu in the Mediterranean or a new Haiti. A land without law and order, abandoned to the gangs, to the violence against the people in despair. Someone will have to take care of the public order in Gaza. I do not know who, but certainly, first, the Palestinian Authority has a responsibility on that. I think the Palestinian Authority will need a lot of support if law and order has to come back to Gaza. You know, sometimes even [humanitarian aid] coming into Gaza, is useless, because there is no possibility of distributing [it] – because there is a complete anarchy. So, the idea that Gaza can become the Mogadishu in the Mediterranean or the Haiti in the Mediterranean – with what that means in terms of violence, in terms of terrorism, in terms of forced migration of people – is something that everybody has to have in mind. Not only to support the people in Gaza, but also because it is the security and stability of the whole region which is at stake.
Q. The European Union was on its way to impose sanctions on two Israeli Ministers. However, this was not successful. What, in your opinion, does the European Union have as pressuring courts in order to force Israel to stop its atrocities?
Well, yes, that is true. Using the capacity of the High Representative, I made a proposal to the Foreign Affairs Council Ministers to impose sanctions on two Israeli government Ministers for hate speech. The Council discussed about it and decided to go to the technical bodies. It is still not a ‘Yes’, it is still not ‘No’. I do not know which will be the final result – I still do not know. The technical bodies of the Council are working on it. There are not only these two ministers, but also some agencies, some institutions which we believe are responsible for the illegal expansion of colonies (settlements) in the West Bank – which are also being proposed as sanctioned. So, let’s see but I think that the European Union has a list to study it and consider these cases.
Q. Where is the European Union from the mediation efforts nowadays? If this situation 100 metres from here, Israel would like to stay and occupy the Rafah crossing, are you ready to come with a European mission to the crossing? How can you come, as you said now?
https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-260513
https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-260513
The European Union is supporting the mediation efforts by Egypt, by the United States and by Qatar, who are the ones in charge of this mediation process. The problem is not to have more mediators – these three are enough: Qatar, Egypt and the United States. If they do not manage to get it, it is going to be very difficult that someone else can do it. So, we support these diplomatic efforts, we participate – not everything can be made public – in this effort. We regret that for one reason or another, the solution is still not there. We push as much as we can through diplomatic channels, which are not to be explained here in the middle of this press conference, but they exist. What else can we do? What else can we do, [but] to use our capacity? Certainly, we could do more things, but I do not think there is a political will to do more.
Q. What about the mission here?
The mission? I have the responsibility to deploy people on the ground. I have to care for their security, too. So, I need to be sure that the security conditions are being met and the political conditions are also to be met. I need the agreement of the Egyptians. I need the agreement of the Palestinian Authority. And, like it or not, I need the agreement of the Israeli side. For the time being, it is not possible. The first condition is a ceasefire. Without the ceasefire, nobody will deploy here any civilian group of people because it is too risky. First thing is ceasefire, the release of hostages, and then an agreement in order to deploy the civilian staff – which are ready to come, could come and be deployed. But I need the security conditions and the political agreement to be reached. And believe me, I spend quite a lot of time trying to get it.
