Josep Borrell: Israel funded Hamas

Josep Borrell said that Israel financed the creation of Hamas, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied.

Political opponents and international media have accused Netanyahu's governments of supporting Hamas for years, including by allowing Qatar to finance Gaza.

«Yes, Hamas has been funded by the Israeli government in an attempt to weaken the Fatah-led Palestinian AuthorityJosep Borrell noted in a speech he delivered at the University of Valladolid, without providing further details.

In the same speech, the head of European diplomacy stressed that the only peaceful solution includes the establishment of a Palestinian state. “We believe it Only the two-state solution, imposed from outside, will bring peaceDespite Israel's insistence on the negatives.” Benjamin Netanyahu opposes such a solution.

Josep Borrell's statements come a few days before the Foreign Ministry's foreign ministers' scheduled meetings with their counterparts from Israel and Arab countries in Brussels. On Monday, the ministers are scheduled to discuss the Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the prospects for reaching a peaceful solution in Brussels.

Also on Monday, the European Union is expected to announce new sanctions on Hamas aimed at cutting off its sources of funding, according to three diplomats cited by Politico. On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza on the condition that Hamas is dissolved and the hostages are released.

With information from Reuters