European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that Hamas "has to be eradicated" but that the group "represents an idea, and you cannot kill an idea." He suggested that the only way to stop Hamas is to propose a "better" option to Palestinians, adding that a two-state solution is "difficult, [but] we have to try."
Following his visit to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, Borrell said a war between Israel and Lebanon is "not in the interest of humankind," noting it would also jeopardize an important shipping route via the Red Sea. "The war has to stop, not to expand. And the only solution for avoiding the war expanding is to look for a political solution for the conflict between Israel and Palestine. And this will require a strong commitment of the international community and to start with, the European and the Arab people," he said.
