JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥 Israel has signaled to the European Union鈥檚 foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, that he is not welcome to visit following critical comments he made about Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials said Wednesday.
The incident marked the latest sign of deteriorating relations between Israel鈥 s new far-right government and some of its closest allies.
Borrell upset Israel with an article published last week that Israeli officials said equated the Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks with militants killed in Israeli army operations.
鈥淏eing honest means acknowledging that extremism is rising on both sides. Indiscriminate attacks and violence are taking many lives,鈥 Borrell wrote in 鈥淧roject Syndicate.鈥
鈥淰iolence on the part of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is increasingly threatening Palestinian lives and livelihoods 鈥 almost always with impunity. Moreover, Israeli military operations frequently cause civilian Palestinian deaths, often without effective accountability,鈥 he added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen condemned the comments in a conversation with Borrell on Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
鈥淭here is no room for comparison or balancing between the victims of terrorism on the Israeli side and the Palestinian terrorists supported by the Palestinian Authority,鈥 he said.
An Israeli official said Wednesday that while there were no official plans or requests for Borrell to visit, the Israeli government had made it clear to him that he is not welcome at the current time.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not banned,鈥 the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a good time to come.鈥
In Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said Borrell had not been prevented from entering Israel because he has not been trying to visit.
鈥淲e are not aware about any ban or about any decision by the official Israeli authorities not allowing鈥 Borrell to visit.
He added that Borrell鈥檚 comments reflected the official positions of the 27-nation EU.
Israel has close political and economic relations with many European states. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to travel to Germany on Wednesday, a week after an official visit to Italy.
But Israel and the EU have repeatedly differed over the years over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, Israeli settlement construction and the lack of progress in peace talks.
Borrell鈥檚 article lamented that 鈥渘either the Israeli side nor the Palestinian side is ready for peace.鈥 He called on Palestinian factions 鈥渢o renounce terrorism and overcome their political divisions,鈥 while he urged Israel to stop building settlements on occupied land claimed by the Palestinians, to halt settler violence and to offer to negotiate an independent Palestinian state.
The Palestinians are currently divided between two governments 鈥 the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers semi-autonomous zones in the occupied West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that governs the Gaza Strip. The PA is weak, unpopular and has become increasingly autocratic, while Hamas refuses to accept Israel鈥檚 right to exist.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 new government is dominated by ultranationalists who oppose Palestinian independence and further expansion of settlements, now home to some 700,000 Israelis.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, has criticized Israeli settlement announcements by Netanyahu's government and ongoing settler violence against Palestinians. In a departure from standard customs, U.S. officials did meet this week with Israel's finance minister, a far-right politician and leader of the settlement movement.
Borrell said he was not announcing a European peace initiative, and instead called 鈥渇or exploring what we can all contribute to Israeli-Palestinian peace once it comes.鈥
