The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, was cautious, on Tuesday 28 January, about the US peace plan for the Middle East presented a few minutes earlier.
"The European Union will study and assess the proposals put forward" he explained in a statement on behalf of the EU. This assessment will be made "on the basis of the EU's established position and its firm and united commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution, that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, respecting all relevant UN resolutions and internationally agreed parameters", he warned. The EU advocates a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, according to the 1967 demarcation. Israeli settlement activity is illegal under international law, the EU regularly recalls.
The 180-page U.S. plan proposes a "realistic two-state solution". While "Jerusalem will remain the indivisible capital of Israel", the Palestinian capital "should be located in that part of East Jerusalem that lies in all areas east and north of the existing security fence". The demilitarised Palestinian State would be created on condition that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a "Jewish State", strengthen their institutions and reject terrorism in all its forms. This State would be "contiguous", the different parts of which would be connected by tunnels or roads. According to this plan, the settlements are part of Israeli territory and the Jewish State has sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Thirty percent of the West Bank could thus be returned to Israel. In return, it would have to freeze settlement for four years. The 5.5 million Palestinian refugees would be able to live in the new Palestinian state, in the country where they are currently living or in a third country.
In any event, the U.S. initiative "provides an occasion to re-launch the urgently needed efforts towards a negotiated and viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict", Borrell said. According to him, the EU is ready to work towards the resumption of "meaningful negotiations" to resolve all permanent status issues and to achieve a "just and lasting" peace. The EU urges both sides to demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution as the only realistic way to end the conflict, Mr Borrell also stressed.
The S&D group in the European Parliament, through its Vice-President for Foreign Affairs, Kati Piri (Netherlands), was more critical, arguing that the plan was based on "an unbalanced offer".
See the American peace plan: http://bit.ly/2Gxd5fV (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)