Sharjah 24 – KUNA: During the last 30 years, thousands of people have died unnecessarily due to the Palestinian conflict and millions of Palestinians continue to live under occupation, on less and less land and with the two-state solution becoming less and less viable.
These views were expressed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on his blog published by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic service, on Sunday.
He said the meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council in Brussels on 3 October, for the first time in ten years, was also an opportunity to talk about issues on which we don’t agree such as the peace process and the situation in the Palestinian territories.
In a joint position paper prior to the meeting, all 27 EU member states set out their priorities for the relationship as well as the issues on which we have differences with Israel. The biggest one on that list is the persistent lack of progress towards a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said.
The EU used the Association Council to express its views and hear those of Israel on a number of difficult issues such as the closure of Gaza and the suffering of its estimated 2.3 million inhabitants, the continued construction of new Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Among other issues raised by the EU were continued settler violence without accountability; the evictions of numerous Palestinians from an Israeli firing zone; the number of casualties, especially children; the demolitions of EU-funded humanitarian structures; administrative detentions; the erosion of the status quo on the Holy Sites and the designation of respected NGOs as terrorist organisations.
These are all things happening today without any improvement... These things are difficult to understand, noted the EU foreign policy chief.
The Palestinian side also has homework to do, on reforms, on governance and on the delivery of basic services to its population. We will offer our support, but we also have expectations and questions for the Palestinians, he said.
Borrell said two weeks ago at the United Nations in New York, he hosted a meeting with Arab leaders, at the initiative of Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, to revive and build on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
There is for sure a long and difficult road to walk, but we must explore all we can to bring peace and prosperity not just to Israel and Palestine, but to the entire region, he said.
Borrell said he has asked Sven Koopmans , EU's Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, to explore with all parties and international partners the opportunities for security, trade, water, energy, innovation and other areas of cooperation that peace would bring, and to work within the EU to identify our own potential contributions to these efforts.
Israeli Prime Minister Lapid, who currently is also Foreign Minister, was unable to join the Council in person, but we exchanged with him via VTC beforehand and with the Israeli delegation led by Elazar Stern, the Minister for Intelligence who had come to Brussels for our meeting, added Borrell’s blog.
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