On Thursday 28 November, 90 delegations - but not Israel - met in Brussels within the framework of the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution, in order to “bring together all the initiatives and all the capacities to be active (...) to set the ball rolling”, stated EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
“We are here to work towards making the Palestinian State an objective and to put in place a framework so that all those who want to work towards it can contribute. Financial contributions, political contributions, practical contributions”, he explained. Mr Borrell pointed out that the parameters for the solution had been known and agreed for years, but that it was now necessary to see how they could be made operational.
While acknowledging that ending the war in Gaza must be the most urgent priority, “preparing the ground for peace is no less important - even if the parties are not ready. One party at least is not ready for that”, he lamented.
Mr Borrell explained that the situation was difficult because “unfortunately, Israeli society is being colonised from within by extremism and violent people”. “The problem is that there are forces that do not want (the two-state solution), either with these parameters or with any parameters. (The problem with) the parameters is clear obstruction (from the Netanyahu government). They make no secret of the fact that they want to prevent the existence of a Palestinian state by any means possible. And that’s what we need to focus on”, he added.
As he leaves office this Friday, the High Representative has called on all those committed to supporting the two-state solution to continue to work hard on this issue. “Without it, there will be no peace in the Middle East, and without peace in the Middle East, the whole region will be in danger. Not just the whole region. It is a cancer that will metastasise, affecting international relations and affecting - from within - European societies”, he warned. “For years, we’ve been talking about it without doing anything about it. It’s time to act”, he insisted. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)