Arab countries and EU demand creation of two states in Israel and Palestine: “The alternative is apartheid” international

The two-state solution in Israel and Palestine is shared by European and Arab governments on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. But amid the Gaza war and the regional conflict already underway in Lebanon, it lacks concrete actions to implement it. The foreign ministers of 43 European and Arab countries – from which Israel was absent for the second consecutive year – met this Monday in Barcelona within the framework of the 9th Union for the Mediterranean Forum (UfM) and demanded actions that would stop Israel’s “impunity” End and lead to “implement” this solution. “It is the only possible one, because the alternative is apartheid And continue the occupation, so Israel will not give up,” said Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates.

Safadi co-chairs the forum with Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who has also defended the two-state solution and strongly criticized Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. “No one is able to stop this,” said Borrell, who also expressed regret over the attacks against the UNIFIL Blue Helmets in Lebanon: “The Israeli military must be condemned for this.”

The UFM Forum was born out of the so-called Barcelona Process, a cooperation project promoted by the EU after the 1995 assassination of then Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Rabin and the subsequent derailment of the peace process in the Middle East. Last year, the forum took place immediately after the October 7 Hamas attacks. Again, like this version, Israel did not attend the regional meeting.

“A year later we are talking about the same thing again, but much worse,” said Borrell, who noted more than 43,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the Hamas-ruled strip’s health ministry, due to the destruction of homes, The Israeli government described information blackouts, destroyed hospitals, and two million people – 90% of Gazan’s population – “who are in a state of extreme food insecurity.”

This situation includes the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the bombing of main Lebanese cities, which has killed thousands of people. Borrell has called for an “immediate ceasefire” and compliance with Security Council Resolution 1701, which dates from 2006 and calls for a cessation of hostilities and the creation of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River. In this sense, the head of European diplomacy has pointed directly at Israel for its non-compliance. “The attacks on UNIFIL must be condemned, but without hiding who is behind it, which is the Israeli army. “We must condemn him,” he said.

For all these reasons, Borrell mentions a two-state solution as the only possible solution, although the Union for the Mediterranean has little power to move in this direction. “All countries in the region have called for a political solution and the implementation of a process for Palestinian statehood,” Borrell said.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alberes has detailed three steps to make this possible. “Achieve a ceasefire that allows the release of hostages (Israelis in the Strip) and the entry of humanitarian aid, a phase of reconstruction and, finally, a peace conference to implement a two-state solution that ends Gaza and The aim is to place the West Bank under a single Palestinian administration. This is the only solution for peace and security, also for Israel,” said the representative of Spain, one of the European countries that has already recognized the Palestinian state.

Alberes also referred to the joint statement between Spain and Lebanon this Monday, in which he defended the legitimacy of the Lebanese government and showed support for UNIFIL. The minister said Spain has already contributed five million euros in humanitarian aid to Lebanon and is preparing a second package.

ban proposal

Borrell acknowledged that stronger measures are needed to implement this solution, and explained that the UFM has also decided to reform its organization “to make it stronger and better able to propose actions.” Borrell, who as EU High Representative has suggested member states adopt a package of sanctions that includes West Bank residents and two ministers from Israel, also highlighted that the two countries, Spain And Ireland has asked institutions to analyze whether Israel’s war actions are compatible with the EU’s association agreement with the Jewish state.

“I have proposed that the next European Council analyze this,” he said. Borrell, who co-chaired the forum last fall, also said the ministers meeting in Barcelona “rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians, especially from the West Bank to Jordan.” He concluded, “I leave this meeting with a feeling of sadness and bitterness because we have not succeeded in stopping innocent people from dying every day in conflict, which must be stopped and can only be stopped if “The community should act instead of mourn.”

Jordan’s deputy prime minister has criticized the international community for allowing Israel to commit “war crimes with impunity” and called on the EU to work to regain the legitimacy of international law. “Nobody is putting obstacles in the way. “Do something to save what can be saved under international law, because in Israel we have an extremist government that just yesterday (Sunday) called for ethnic cleansing,” Safadi claimed. And has also requested the sale of ammunition. by some EU member states.

Safadi has also defended the two-state solution as the only possible solution, and criticized that Israel “has not proposed anything, and in fact is making every effort to avoid it.” He concluded, “We are not going to give up on achieving a lasting peace, which must include guaranteeing Palestine’s right to self-determination.”