Arab News | European Commissioner discussed EU-Israel relationship, Gaza with Israeli minister

BRUSSELS: The European ‌Commissioner for the Mediterranean said on Sunday that she discussed the European Union’s relationship with Israel, regional stability and Gaza recovery efforts with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

Dubravka Suica said in a post on X after the call that they discussed EU-Israel “relations and our shared interest in security and stability across the Middle East. This ‌includes a reformed ‌and functioning Palestinian Authority”.

When ‌it comes to Gaza, “I focused on the urgent need to advance early recovery,” she said, adding that “our continued cooperation is key to delivering early recovery projects on the ground.”

The commissioner announced in July that the EU and like-minded partners launched an initiative to ‌help fund Gaza’s early ‌recovery focused on restoring essential social and economic ‌services, rehabilitating critical infrastructure and strengthening governance.

The ‌EU has criticized Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza while reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself. It has also criticised Israel’s expansion ‌of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, widely viewed as illegal under international law and as an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

But the EU’s 27 member states are divided, with some highly critical of Israel and others maintaining close ties. Saar said in June that he was severing “all contact” with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over what he said were remarks attributed to her comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.