EU set to discuss Rafah mission, Borrell criticizes Netanyahu

The European Union aims to agree in principle on Monday to press ahead with an EU border mission at Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip abutting Egypt, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Speaking before a monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers, Borrell also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using false claims of anti-semitism against the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his own political ends.

The bloc is considering reviving its European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) Rafah, which has not been operational since 2007, when the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas seized full control of Gaza.

The Rafah crossing is the main entry point for aid from Egypt, and has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it from the Gazan side nearly three weeks ago.

"Today we can have a political decision and then it needs to be implemented technically," Borrell told reporters, adding it would require approval from Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians.



Reuters