'Stop saying please': Josep Borrell says US must use weapons as leverage with Israel

'Netanyhu doesn’t listen to anyone' says EU's foreign policy chief

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The US should consider using its clout as Israel's top weapons provider to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lower the number of civilian deaths in the Gaza strip, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.

The comments made by Mr Borrell, a Spanish diplomat, come as international concern mounts over a planned Israeli incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than half of the enclave's two million inhabitants have sought shelter.

US President Joe Biden said Israel needs a "credible" plan to ensure their safety. Overnight Israeli strikes killed close to 100 people.

Gaza's population has nowhere to go as the border with Egypt remains closed.

"Netanyahu doesn't listen to anyone," said Mr Borrell. "They are going to evacuate. Where? To the moon? Where are they going to evacuate these people?"

In an unusually sharp rebuttal, Mr Biden said this week that Israel was "over the top" in its military response in Gaza, where close to 30,000 people have died as Israel attempts to eradicate Hamas after the October 7 attacks, which killed around 1,200 people.

"President Biden says it's over the top, it's not proportional," Mr Borrell told reporters at a press conference in Brussels attended by the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini.

"Well, if you believe too many are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many being killed. It's not logical?

"This is a little bit contradictory to continue saying too many people are being killed, please take care of people, please don't kill so many people. Stop saying please, and do something," Mr Borrell said.

The US is the world's biggest supplier of military aid to Israel. Some European countries also sell weapons to Israel. German defence exports approvals to Israel rose tenfold last year to $323 million. The EU as a bloc does not provide military aid to Israel.

Mr Borrell pointed to a court ruling in the Netherlands on Monday that ordered the Dutch government to stop sending F-35 parts to Israel, citing risks of violations of international law. Three human rights organisations sued the government in December saying it risked becoming complicit in war crimes committed by Israel.

"By the way, today a court in the Netherlands has ordered the government to stop exporting spare parts of F-35 fighters to Israel in order to be sure that an international court of justice ruling is being implemented," said Mr Borrell.

The court said the state had to comply with the order within seven days and dismissed a request by government lawyers to suspend the order pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Presiding Judge Bas Boele said there was a possibility the Dutch government could allow the export of F-35 parts to Israel in future, but only on the strict condition they would not be used in military operations in Gaza.

In a first ruling in December, a Dutch lower court stopped short of ordering the Dutch government to halt the exports, even though it said it was likely that F-35s contributed to violations of the laws of war.

The state immediately appealed the decision at the Supreme Court, but in the meantime it must implement the court’s decision. This may take several months.

"In the government's view, the distribution of American F-35 parts is not unlawful. The government believes it is up to the State to determine its foreign policy," it said. "The government will do everything it can to convince allies and partners that the Netherlands remains a reliable partner in the F-35 project and in European and international defence co-operation."

The government said the provision of F-35 parts to Israel was crucial both for Dutch and for Israeli security, "in particular with regard to threats emanating from the region, for instance from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon."

The state's decision to lodge an appeal is "separate from the situation in Gaza," it said.

"The Netherlands continues to call for an immediate temporary humanitarian ceasefire, and for as much humanitarian aid as possible to be allowed to reach the suffering people of Gaza."

Yet one of the NGOs involved told The National that there was a clear link with the continuing war in the enclave.

"Hopefully, it contributes to protect the people in Gaza," said Dirk Jan Jalvingh, policy adviser for conflict and humanitarian response at Oxfam Novib.

"The fact that we had to take the state to court is quite depressing. Ideally, you'd want the Dutch government to stand firmly for international humanitarian law. Hopefully this will bring a change in the political discussion," said Mr Jalvingh.

He described the court ruling as a "slap on the fingers legally speaking regarding how the Netherlands has been operating and the wider positioning of the Netherlands as a whole. The Dutch state has basically said they unequivocally support Israel since the October 7 attacks and have been very uncritical of the Israeli government’s actions.”

He said he hoped that the ruling would give EU countries “something to think about.”

The Netherlands is bound by the EU's common position on arms exports, which includes a clause on respect for human rights and international humanitarian law in the country of final destination. The court ruling was all the more symbolic because it came on the same day as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“It’s quite a coincidence,” said Mr Jalvingh. “It could be that he’s there to explain his position.”