Israel-Palestine: EU hosts fresh talks with Arab states on two-state solution push

Global initiative has been snubbed by Israel but Brussels officials hope to join with Saudi Arabia to relaunch Palestinian state efforts

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference in Beirut on November 24. Reuters

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The European Union wants to lead a worldwide effort to push for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel with the backing of Saudi Arabia despite Israel's refusal to engage in the process.

On Thursday in Brussels the EU's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, will co-host a second gathering of the global alliance for a two-state solution. It will be attended by more than 75 delegations including Palestinian and US representatives, as well as inter-governmental bodies such as the Gulf Co-operation Council and the Arab League. "This is for people to come at the level of special envoys, political directors and so on, to actually do the hardcore work," a senior EU official said in a briefing for reporters ahead of the meeting.

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan in September launched the global alliance with 94 countries on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. All UN members were invited but Israel, as well as Iran and Syria, declined to attend. It was followed by an inaugural meeting in Riyad last month.

Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it will not normalise relations with Israel without a Palestinian state – a link that has so far been rejected by Israel. "They don't recognise how determined the Saudis are on that before moving on normalisation," said Christian Koch, director of the Gulf Research Centre Foundation in Brussels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be uninterested in the initiative, but that does not change the EU's proposal for a two-state solution, which is the only long-term guarantee of Israeli security, the senior EU official said. "We're doing this with China, with Japan, but we're also doing this with Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the [United Arab] Emirates," they said. "If ever it succeeds, you [Israel] have a lot of potential friends that are interesting to you."

Root cause of conflict is lack of Palestinian state

Arrest warrants recently issued by the International Criminal Court against Mr Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, have further complicated relations between Israel and certain EU countries pushing for peace talks in the region. Before the ceasefire in Lebanon was announced on Tuesday night, Israel had threatened to veto France's participation in a US-led oversight committee after France said it would have to abide by the ICC's arrest warrant, according to the news website Axios.

"There's an understanding that the political circumstances right now don't allow for quick movement, but you can start putting that framework together," Mr Koch told The National. "It's very clear in everybody's mind that the root cause [of the conflict] is the fact that we don't have a Palestinian state despite it being on the books for more than 70 years."

Brussels hopes to demonstrate that it has more to offer than paying for humanitarian aid, which is the role it has traditionally adopted in the Middle East conflict. Unlike the US, Egypt and Qatar, and, to a lesser extent, EU member states such as France, the EU as a bloc is not involved in mediation talks for ceasefires. Yet the EU, which already has a number of agreements with Israel including free trade and visa exemption agreements, has also remained vague on what more it could offer Israel to change its mind.

"There is always more that you can do," the senior EU official said, adding that the bloc was well aware that carrots would not be enough to convince Israel to join the talks. "Not that our contributions, our package, is going to draw people over the line, but maybe it will show more people how worthwhile it is."

Prospects for the elusive Palestinian state appear further imperilled by US president-elect Donald Trump's choice of US ambassador to Israel. Mike Huckabee is an evangelical Christian who is opposed to a two-state solution and supports the settler movement in the West Bank. More than 700,000 settlers live in the West Bank – illegally, according to the UN – which creates a situation on the ground that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state on the same territory.

The EU believes it may still convince the US of the importance of working with Arab states including Saudi Arabia on pushing for a Palestinian state. The previous Trump administration's strong ties with Riyadh may work in favour of the global alliance for a two-state solution, the senior EU official said. "I think there is a lot in it for the United States."

Yet human rights groups also say that the EU has failed to use its leverage on Israel to stop settlement expansions, aside from issuing sanctions on a handful of violent settlers. It has so far not abided by the International Court of Justice's July advisory opinion to stop all trade and investments in the occupied territories, said Hussein Baoumi, foreign policy advocacy officer at Amnesty International's European institutions office in Brussels.

The EU Commission and member states have also failed to agree on reviewing the human rights clause in the bloc's trade association agreement with Israel despite indications of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. "It is inherent acknowledgement that the EU will just not hold Israel accountable for its actions," Mr Baoumi said. "If you acknowledge that there is one state reality, what follows is that Israel has obligations towards everyone in society."