FEDERICA MOGHERINI

While in Gaza, EU foreign chief calls for Palestinian state

1 European Union’s new foreign affairs chief appealed for the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saturday.

2 She said the world “cannot afford” another war in Gaza. “We need a Palestinian state — that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union,” she added.

3 She is currently on a trip to Gaza which has been devastated by its third conflict in six years. Hamas and Israel fought a 50-day war which resulted in the deaths of many.

4 Mogherini’s visit comes against a backdrop of surging Israeli-Palestinian tensions in annexed east Jerusalem where there have been near-daily clashes in neighbourhoods.