Brussels, Apr 20: More than 60 nations are sending representatives to Brussels to discuss with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa stability, security and long-term peace in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as global attention largely remains focused on the Middle East on the ongoing crises in Iran and Lebanon.
Ongoing attacks in the West Bank and continued devastation in Gaza dim the prospect for a two-state solution, said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot ahead of the meeting on Monday. He is co-hosting the meeting with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.
“We observe without naivety that the two-state solution is being made more difficult by the day,” Prevot said. “But Belgium and many European and Arab partners continue to believe that this remains the only realistic path to a lasting peace, for Israelis, for Palestinians and for the stability of the entire region.”
The 27-nation European Union is the largest single donor to the Palestinian Authority, with its 90-year-old president Mahmoud Abbas ruling from Ramallah for two decades. And while the EU has avoided directly joining the Board of Peace created by United States President Donald Trump, preferring the multilateralism of the United Nations and global legal norms, the bloc is eager not to be sidelined in diplomacy in a volatile region just across the Mediterranean.
Outrage in Europe over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza drove many EU leaders to condemn Israel’s war conduct and to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. With the recent ouster of long-serving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Netanyahu, there might now be enough political support within the bloc for stronger actions like targeted sanctions on Israeli settlers or even the suspension of some ties to Israel.
Palestinians in the West Bank say that Israel has used the cover of the Iran war to tighten its grip over the territory, as settler attacks surge and the military imposes additional wartime restrictions on movement, citing security.
Gaza requires “one state, one government, one law and one goal,” Mustafa said on Monday in Brussels.
“Our common objective of achieving one security structure under the legitimate authority should guide the effective coordination between the International Stabilisation Force, the Palestinian Authority, security institutions and other international actors. Security must not be fragmented,” he said.
He also called for “the gradual and responsible collection of arms from all armed groups and also the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.” (AP)
