The head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borel warned today of the danger of the West Bank turning into a new “Gaza Strip”.

Violence to the possessed West Bank has escalated since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

In recent weeks, the Israel increased deadly military operations in the West Bank, Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967 and where violence by Israeli settlers has also increased.

“A new front is being opened with a clear objective: turning the West Bank into a new Gaza Strip, increasing violence, delegitimizing Palestinian Authority and encouraging provocations in order to have a strong response and not be afraid to say that the only way to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict is to annex the West Bank and Gaza,” Borrell said.

Speaking in Cairo where he participated in a ministerial meeting of his countries Arab Leagueaccused “extremist members of the Israeli government (…) of trying to make the creation of a future Palestinian state impossible.”

“Without action, the West Bank will turn into a new Gaza. And Gaza will turn into a new West Bank, while settler groups are preparing new settlements,” Borel stressed, expressing his concern and sadness that “the international community condemns, sympathizes, sympathizes, but finds it difficult to act.”

“Those who are leading the war have no interest in ending it,” the head of European diplomacy complained at the same time.

2023 saw a record for Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, with the highest number of building permits issued in 30 years, according to the EU.

About 490,000 settlers live in the West Bank along with three million Palestinians.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and pose the primary threat, Palestinians say, to a two-state solution.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, violence has escalated in the West Bank.

At least 662 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to Palestinian health ministry figures, and at least 23 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or military operations.

The Israeli military (IDF) announced today that it is highly likely that Israeli soldiers were the ones who accidentally shot and killed 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Eisenur Ezgi Egi at a protest in the West Bank last week.