LISBON  -  EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday said the international community had to “impose” a solution to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

“What we have learned over the last 30 years, and what we are learning now with the tragedy experienced in Gaza, is that the solution must be imposed from outside,” Borrell told diplomats in Portugal.

“Peace will only be achieved in a lasting manner if the international community gets involved intensely to achieve it and imposes a solution,” he said, pointing to the United States, Europe and Arab countries.

Borrell warned that a strike in Beirut on Tuesday that killed a senior leader was “an additional factor that can cause an escalation of the conflict”.

The EU’s top diplomat said he had planned to travel to Lebanon on Thursday but the trip might be cancelled due to security concerns.