The Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad Al-Maliki, and the Israeli Ambassador to the EU, Aharon Leshno-Yaar, expressed their countries’ willingness to resume peace negotiations. But the sides differ on the terms of the negotiations.
“We are ready to start direct negotiations with Israel without preconditions, as long as we stick to the old terms of reference accepted by the entire international community”, Mr Al-Maliki explained to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“The question is: ‘do we have an Israeli interlocutor?’”, he asked. Yes, Mr Leshno-Yaar replied a few minutes later at the same committee meeting. “We must negotiate with the Palestinians, and when they agree to join us, we will discuss everything”, he said, adding that his country agreed to negotiate based on the American plan, a “good plan for achieving peace”.
“Not everything in this plan works. Let’s focus on what is good and negotiate what is not [...] If everyone comes to the table, we can make progress”, the ambassador said, hoping that the Palestinians will not miss this “opportunity for peace”.
The American plan divides Israelis and Palestinians. While the Israeli ambassador described it as a “fair balance between the vital national interests of Israelis and Palestinian aspirations for self-determination”, the Palestinian minister said the plan “is based on the idea that, in order to ensure Israel’s security, the Palestinians must be deprived of their sovereignty”. According to him, the plan perpetuates the “illegal” annexation of the West Bank. “Anyone who promotes Israeli impunity is torpedoing peace”, he warned.
Mr Al-Maliki therefore called on the EU to act. “Act before it's too late!” he told MEPs. “If the Trump plan is implemented and the West Bank is annexed, it will open the door to violence, not only in Israel and Palestine, but in the entire region”, he warned.
The minister also called for “working tirelessly for a two-state solution”. In his view, in order to speak of two States, it is necessary for them to exist and, therefore, for the State of Palestine to be recognized. “If you want to preserve the two-state solution in the face of the attempted annexation of the West Bank, you must move forward and put pressure on your countries to recognize the Palestinian state. This is the only condition that will allow a negotiation of equals with Israel”, he told the MEPs.
“We need your help. Don’t underestimate your voice - it counts in Palestine and Israel, and those who are working for peace need to hear it”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)