The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced on Monday 13 February, a new initiative to revive peace efforts in the Middle East alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Highlighting the “absence” of a Middle East peace process and the increase in recent weeks in the number of victims of terrorist attacks and violence (see other news) and settlement demolitions and expansions, the High Representative explained that “it is necessary for all of us, and for the key international partners, to explore ways to revive and safeguard the prospect of the two-state solution and to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace by building on the Arab Peace Initiative, United Nations resolutions and established international peace parameters”.
“This is not against anyone. It is good for both parties, and we do this for both sides”, he warned.
Specifically, the three leaders decided to establish a trilateral Working Group to develop proposals for a comprehensive regional approach, to “engage with the members of the Arab League, the European Union and relevant international partners to closely coordinate efforts to encourage the parties to demonstrate -through policies and actions- their commitment to a two-state solution”, according to their joint statement.
The aim is to identify contributions that governments and international organisations could make towards a comprehensive peace, “if and when, an Israeli-Palestinian final status agreement is reached wherein a sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state lives side-by-side in peace and security with Israel”, the statement added.
“This Working Group will report to us shortly, on the basis of which we will reach out (...) to international partners and our Member States”, Mr Borrell said, without specifying a deadline.
“We want to demonstrate that we need peace in the Middle East and for that to happen there must be peace between Israel and Palestine. We want to demonstrate that a path to that necessary, just and lasting peace still exists”, he added.
Mr Borrell, like Mr Al Saud and Mr Aboul Gheit, condemned the Israeli government’s announcement the previous day that nine settlement outposts had been legalised under Israeli law. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)