On Monday, January 22, European foreign ministers unanimously reiterated their vision for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: There can be no other solution than a two-state solution, with the building alongside Israel of a Palestinian state. Whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on January 20 his opposition to "Palestinian sovereignty."
The 27 European Union (EU) member states are still unable to agree on a unified call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, still under fire from the Israeli army more than three months after Hamas's attack on Israel. But they demonstrated a rare unity around a solution that is still a long way off, but which has been defended by Europe since 1980.
"The priority is to try to stop the military activities, stop the bombing, in order to provide more humanitarian assistance and to free the hostages and to avoid more civilian casualties, said Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy, who pointed out that less than 100 trucks are admitted into Gaza every day, compared with more than 500 before October 7. Borell added, "The urgency is the priority, but it as important to think about how this problem can be solved. Otherwise, as I said many times, we will go for another cycle of violence, from funeral to funeral, from generation to generation."
He no longer wants to talk about a "peace process" in the Middle East. Instead, we need "to start talking more concretely about the two-state solution process." Although close to Israel, Germany supported this approach through its foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock. "Palestinians can only live in dignity, in security, in freedom if Israel lives in security. That's why the two-state solution is the only solution and those who don't want to know about it have not yet put forward any other alternative."
Borrell even asked: "Which are the other solutions they [Israelis] have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill off them." The Israelis "are sowing the seeds of hatred for generations to come," added Borrell, who believes Israel cannot build peace "only" through war. The new head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, who attended his first European Council meeting in Brussels, was far more polite: "The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all," he declared.
To discuss this prospect, Borrell invited the foreign ministers of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to Brussels for separate meetings with the EU-27. On the table was a 12-point plan drafted by Sven Koopmans, the EU's special envoy to the Middle East, outlining a "comprehensive approach" for moving toward the coexistence of the two countries. "This plan is a step in the right direction. It will bring countries together around the table. And not just the Europeans," said Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's foreign minister. Bettel said the aim is not to organize a huge event but to bring Israel in: "If Israel is not [at] the table, there is no use to have peace conferences."
You have 20% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.