The European Union's top foreign policy chief said Israel seems to have a "clear will" for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, which he warned would threaten peace efforts.
"There seems to be a clear will to annex the West Bank, little by little, bit by bit; there seems to be that will and that's certainly not going to lead to peace," Josep Borrell said at a news conference following the bloc's Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg.
Reminding that a cease-fire has not been reached in Gaza despite the fact that three weeks have passed since the proposal, supported by the international community, he said: "We are nowhere in terms of a cease-fire."
He went on to say that a recent press conference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed clearly that neither sides are willing to implement this proposal.
In response to a question whether the war will last long, Borrell said: "It seems so, unfortunately, it is a war that is going to test the survival of Palestinians in Gaza."
"All member states reiterated their support to UNRWA (U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees) which is being considered ... a life-saving service for the Palestinian refugees in Gaza, West Bank, and the region," added Borrell.
Estimates indicate that around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
All Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal under international law.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip after an incursion by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.
