EU’s top diplomat pushes Israel on two-state solution and calls for an ‘independent’ Palestinian state

Amid growing international pressure on Israel to soften the offensive in Gaza, this Monday in Brussels European Union foreign ministers met to analyze a “comprehensive” peace plan that has been put on the table by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell. At the summit, the heads of European diplomacy will also meet with the Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers and with representatives of the key countries in the region to discuss the document. The text, which EL PAÍS accessed, proposes holding a “preparatory” peace conference, with international participation, which will lay the foundations for the definitive negotiation of a two-state solution.

The 12-point plan was sent to European capitals, along with several key players in the Middle East, on the eve of Monday’s meeting in Brussels and advanced by other media over the weekend. It insists on the need to “prepare a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace” plan, “in view of the current situation and despite the evident difficulties and uncertainties.” The “absence” of such a vision will only “prolong the current violence and lay the groundwork for further radicalization and new conflicts,” which represents “major security, political and migratory risk for the region and for Europe,” the document warns.

In line with his constant emphasis on a two-state solution, the head of European diplomacy’s plan calls for the parties “to live side by side, in peace and security” and envisages holding a “Preparatory Peace Conference” with the Arab allies in the region, the United States, the U.N. and other “key actors.” Said conference should be accompanied by “separate meetings with each of the parties to the conflict,” in view of the fact that, for the time being, it is almost impossible to seat them all at the same table and even to convince some parties to start negotiations. The document adds that an initial draft for a peace plan with an agenda for this to be completed “in the space of one year” should be presented to Israelis and Palestinians.

“I think that we have to stop talking about the peace process and start talking more concretely about the two-state solution process,” Borrell said at the start of the meeting of ministers. The conference will also discuss the chief of European diplomacy’s proposal of a mission to protect trade routes in the Red Sea, although no concrete decision is expected.

The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, described the plan as “a step in the right direction,” while his Irish counterpart, Michéal Martin, urged the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who rejects the creation of a Palestinian state — to “listen to the vast majority of the world who want a peace and who want a two-state solution.” “There is no other alternative on the table that is sustainable and that will make for a sustainable peace into the future,” Martin added.

The document stresses that Borrell’s proposed peace plan should include “robust security guarantees” for Israel and a future “independent” Palestinian state. Although the parties to the conflict should be consulted “constantly” throughout the peace process, the document indicates that their willingness to accept a solution should not be an impediment to continuing peace negotiations. Discussions should “begin and continue at times when one or another party to the conflict is not willing to participate” in the talks, especially in view of the Israeli government’s refusal to accept a Palestinian state. However, the final text will have to be negotiated between the two; in order to “favor” the negotiations, the states and organizations that have participated in the peace process “should make clear the consequences they foresee with regard to the acceptance or non-acceptance of the peace plan at that time.”

The difficulty in bringing the two main parties to the same negotiating table at this point was made explicit in Brussels on Monday, when Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz did not even mention possible talks or the creation of a Palestinian state when he arrived at his meeting with his EU-27 counterparts. In brief statements to the press, Katz showed photos of some of the youngest Israeli hostages held by Hamas and limited himself to indicating that the return of all Israeli hostages, as well as the “recovery of security” in Israel, are the two topics on his agenda in the Belgian capital.

In addition to the meeting with Katz, the EU foreign ministers held a breakfast on Monday with their Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, with whom they also plan to have an extended lunch meeting with other key players in the region: their counterparts from Jordan, Ayman Safadi, and Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, as well as the head of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. In the afternoon, the European ministers invited Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki to sit in on their plenary session before returning to privately discuss a conflict on which the EU has not yet achieved unanimity.

Indeed, while on Friday the 27 EU states approved a new sanctions regime against those who provide financial aid to Hamas, the second part of Borrell’s proposal — sanctioning violent extremist settlers in the West Bank as well — has not yet achieved the requisite unanimity of all member states. But the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, expressed his hope that an agreement on this front could be reached “in the coming days.”

On Monday, the ministers also discussed the war in Ukraine. Borrell and several ministers insisted that Ukraine can count on the EU’s support being “as strong as ever” upon their arrival at the meeting. Their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, participated by teleconference. “The fact that we are involved in seeking a solution in the Middle East does not mean that we do not continue to support Ukraine,” the head of European diplomacy emphasized. The major decisions, especially about the necessary Ukrainian funding, will be made at the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government set for February 1. At that meeting, they will try to reverse or circumvent the Hungarian veto on approving multi-year financial aid of 50 billion for Ukraine.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition