The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, begins a multi-day Middle East tour on Sunday that will include Egypt and Lebanon, but will not visit Israel, which has refused to receive him.
The European official’s office said a meeting with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States “tops his agenda” during his Middle East tour.
Borrell is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo on Monday and will also visit the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, according to the European Union’s foreign service in Brussels.
He will also meet on Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and participate in an Arab League meeting.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Borrell will visit Lebanon, where he will meet with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun.
Israeli rejection of the visit
According to his office, Borrell will not visit Israel during his upcoming tour, after it refused to receive him, according to Israeli media.
Yesterday, Saturday, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Tel Aviv informed the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, that it could not receive him on the date of his visit.
The Israeli newspaper reported that Borrell announced in a letter to the Israeli Foreign Ministry that he intends to visit the country on September 14 and 15.
Yedioth Ahronoth indicated that Israel responded to this by saying that Borrell would not be able to attend during these two days and invited him to coordinate the visit after the holidays, which will be in late October after the end of his term.
This comes amid sharp Israeli criticism of Borrell over his efforts to impose sanctions on Israeli officials, including Internal Security and Finance Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for inciting hatred and committing war crimes.
It is noteworthy that the decision to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers requires a consensus from the EU member states. Agence France-Presse said earlier that the chances of success of Borrell’s efforts are slim due to the division of the 27 EU countries.