Borrell: Israel financed Hamas to undermine Palestinian authorities

(Patria) - The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell said on Friday that Israel financed the creation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, publicly contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who denied such accusations, Reuters reports.

Opponents of the Israeli government and some global media accuse Netanyahu's governments of strengthening Hamas for years, including by allowing Qatar to finance Gaza.

"Yes, Hamas was financed by the Israeli government in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian authorities led by Fatah," Borrell said in a speech at the University of Valladolid in Spain.

Borrell added that the only peaceful solution involves the creation of a Palestinian state.

"We only believe that a two-state solution imposed from the outside would bring peace, even though Israel insists on the negative," he said.

Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing 1,400 people and taking about 240 hostages on the deadliest day in Israel's history. Israel launched a counteroffensive in which more than 24,700 Palestinians have been killed since then.

Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 after a brief civil war with forces loyal to the Fatah movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, which is headquartered in the West Bank and also heads the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Israel has criticized various countries, including Borrell's native Spain, for what it says is sympathy for Hamas.