BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday that the establishment of a Palestinian state would be the best way of ensuring Israel’s security.
Borrell held a video meeting with foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 countries after touring the Middle East for talks on Israel’s war with Hamas.
The EU’s top diplomat said that he had drawn “a fundamental political conclusion” from his discussions across the region.
“I think that the best guarantee for Israel’s security is the creation of a Palestinian state,” Borrell said in a written summary of the EU meeting.
Borrell has insisted Israel should not occupy Gaza after the current conflict ends and that control of the territory should be handed over to the Palestinian Authority.
“Despite the huge challenges, we have to advance our reflections on the stabilization of Gaza and the future Palestinian state,” he said.
In the short-term, Borrell said, after visiting a string of Arab states, that there was a “sense of urgency” over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“The UN Security Council resolution calling for immediate humanitarian pauses is a big step forward, but we must ensure its rapid implementation,” the EU official said.
Another major fear was the possibility of the conflict further enflaming volatile situation in the West Bank and dragging in other actors in the Middle East.
“In light of increased extremists and settlers’ violence against Palestinians there is a real risk that the situation could escalate,” Borrell said.
“Reports of a ship hijacked by the Houthis are another worrying signal of a risk of the regional spill over.”
Palestinian state best guarantee of Israel security: EU’s Borrell
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Palestinian state best guarantee of Israel security: EU’s Borrell
- Borrell has insisted Israel should not occupy Gaza after the current conflict ends and that control of the territory should be handed over to the Palestinian Authority
35 million Nigerians ‘risk hunger after global funding collapse’
- The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level
ABUJA: Nearly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger this year, including 3 million children facing severe malnutrition, the UN said, following the collapse of global aid budgets.
Speaking at the launch of the 2026 humanitarian plan in Abuja, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the long-dominant, foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that Nigeria’s needs have grown.
Conditions in the conflict-hit northeast are dire, Fall said, with civilians in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states facing rising violence.
BACKGROUND
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that the country’s needs have grown.
A surge in terror attacks killed more than 4,000 people in the first eight months of 2025, matching the toll for all of 2023, he said.
The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level.
“These are not statistics. These numbers represent lives, futures, and Nigerians,” Fall said.
He also said the UN had no choice but to focus on “the most lifesaving” interventions given the drop in available funding.
Shortfalls last year led the World Food Programme to also warn that millions could go hungry in Nigeria as its resources ran out in December and it was forced to cut support for more than 300,000 children.
Fall said Nigeria was showing growing national ownership of the crisis response in recent months through measures such as local funding for lean-season food support and early-warning action on flooding.
