European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called today (Thursday) for support for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, after the latter activated Article 99 of the United Nations Charter.

Borrell said on the X platform: “I call on the European Union members of the UN Security Council and like-minded partners to support the Secretary-General of the United Nations... The Security Council must act immediately to prevent the complete collapse of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

He added: “I also call on Israel to allow all United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, Lynne Hastings, to provide urgent support to civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

Borrell stressed that settler violence against Palestinian communities must stop, pointing to the destruction by Israeli settlers of the Zanota School in the West Bank, which he said the European Union built in order to provide an educational opportunity for children there. He described the destruction of the school as a violation of international law.