The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, said on Thursday 26 September that the chances for a two-state solution were diminishing.
“The two-state solution is in danger, but it is still possible. This is above all a matter of political will on the part of both sides and their international partners. We must preserve and protect the Oslo process and the two-state solution”, she delivered at the ad hoc Liaison Committee meeting in New York.
Although Ms Mogherini had hoped at the beginning of her term of office in late 2014 that an agreement would be reached by the end of her term, the situation is quite different. “Clearly, the space for such a [two-state] solution is shrinking rapidly, because of political choices that have been made, because of the situation on the ground and also because of the growing sense of hopelessness among Palestinians and Israelis”, she acknowledged. “But I still firmly believe that with courageous leadership, a return to negotiations is possible and continues to offer the only pathway to lasting peace and security”, she stressed.
For Ms Mogherini, the international community cannot impose a solution on the parties, but it can “try to preserve the viability of both States and remind everyone that any peace plan will ultimately fail if it is not firmly anchored in international law and if there is no ownership on the ground”.
Pending a peace agreement, the High Representative clarified that the Committee's meeting had highlighted the need for the full implementation of the economic and fiscal agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and to improve the situation in Gaza. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)