EU top diplomat: Annexation will have significant impact on ties with Israel

The European Union’s foreign policy chief says Israeli annexation of West Bank land would “inevitably have significant consequences for the close relationship we currently enjoy with Israel.”

Josep Borrell says such a step “would negatively affect regional stability, our relations with Israel and between Israel and Arab states, and potentially the security of Israel.”

Though he states that he will not “prejudge the specific impact,” he stresses that “the European Union has its own obligations and responsibilities under international and European Union law.”

He admits that there is a lack of “unanimity” among European nations on what would be the appropriate response, but adds there is a “strong majority” against any unilateral action that will harm the prospects of a two-state solution.

Borrell says he has relayed EU concerns in talks with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz as well as with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.