EU Foreign Ministers are promoting talks from Brussels for a possible solution to the ongoing war in Gaza. This January 22, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, asked to address the creation of a Palestinian State, instead of just proposing a peace process. Furthermore, the diplomat noted that Israel's offensive to eliminate Hamas is not working. His statements come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his opposition to any path leading to a Palestinian state, citing security reasons. Meanwhile, the destruction and death continue in the Palestinian enclave, where the death toll rose to 25,295, the local Health Ministry reported.
Create a Palestinian State. That is the only real way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, beyond the ongoing war. This was stated in a statement by the high representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell.
A position followed by several foreign ministers of the EU and some Arab countries, who met separately in Brussels on January 22 with Palestinian and Israeli leaders to discuss a possible solution to the bloody war in Gaza. In three months of the escalation of the conflict, 25,295 people have already died, most of them women and children. The local Ministry of Health reported this Monday.
“We have to stop talking about peace, the peace process, and start talking more concretely about the two-state solution process. Because peace can come in many different forms. What kind of peace are you talking about? (…) From now on, I will not talk about the peace process, but about the two-state solution process,” declared Borrell, referring to the formation of a Palestinian State, since Israel has existed since 1948.
Although his words put a defined path on the table, the discussion in this regard continues to have strong obstacles, as became clear on Sunday, January 21, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his hard line against any possibility of creating a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu, who justified “an existential danger” for his country, assured that he will continue to insist on total security control over all the territory west of the Jordan River, which includes Gaza and the occupied West Bank. “As long as I am prime minister, I will continue to defend this firmly,” the politician remarked.
“Benjamin Netanyahu's statements are worrying. A Palestinian State with security guarantees for all will be necessary,” responded the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Sejourne, from Brussels on Monday.
They are sowing hatred for generations
Faced with Israel's declared objective of “annihilating” Hamas in its devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip for more than three months, Borrell assured that the armed route does not work and, instead, creates a humanitarian crisis. The diplomat questioned what paths Israel proposes to bring a true solution to the decades-old conflict.
“What are the other solutions you have in mind? Make all the Palestinians leave? Kill some of them? 25,000 are already (dead) in Gaza, 70% are women and children. Certainly, the way to try to destroy Hamas is not what they are doing, because they are sowing hatred for generations. We keep in mind what Hamas is, what Hamas has done, and we certainly reject and condemn it. But peace and stability cannot be built only by military means, and not with this particular way of using military means,” stressed the senior EU diplomat.
The EU is the world's largest provider of aid to the Palestinians and Israel's largest trading partner, but has little influence over the Jewish-majority country. International mediation is also complicated by the deep divisions on this issue among the 27 countries of the bloc, although as the number of deaths in the blockaded territory increases, calls to stop hostilities grow.
“Gaza is in a situation of extreme urgency. There is a risk of famine. There is a risk of epidemics. The violence must stop,” said this Monday the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
Ahead of the Brussels meeting, the EU's diplomatic service sent a discussion paper to its 27 member countries, suggesting a roadmap to peace in the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At the center of the plan is a call for a “preparatory peace conference” which would be organized by the EU, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the League of Arab States, which would also have the participation of the United States and the United Nations.
The internal document, cited by Reuters, makes clear that a key objective of a peace plan should be the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, “living side by side with Israel in peace and security.”
“The moment of truth has arrived. Will we allow a radical racist agenda to dictate the future or will we unite and say that the path is clear, we want peace for all and a two-state solution is the only way,” said the Jordanian foreign minister. , Ayman Safadi, referring to the intermittent peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians since the 1990s.
Israel financed Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority: Borrell's harsh accusation
It is not clear whether Israel would change its stance for the EU and some Arab nations' plan to prosper, and the recent strong accusations from the top diplomat in Brussels could make it more difficult for Netanyahu's government to give in.
At the weekend, Borrell accused the Jewish-majority state of helping to finance the Hamas group – which controls Gaza and is classified by Israel as terrorist – as part of its strategy to weaken the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas. , which governs the West Bank in a limited way, given the control of the Israeli authorities.
“Israel, by continuing to reject this solution, has gone so far as to create Hamas itself. Yeah, Hamas has been financed by the Israeli Government to try to undermine the Palestinian Authority of Al-Fatah“said Borrell, during a speech in the University of Valladolid, Spain.
❝Yes, Hamas was financed by the government of Israel in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah.❞
EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell claimed on Friday that the state of Israel has financed the creation of Palestinian militant group Hamas. pic.twitter.com/b4GckPA2zV
— NoComment (@nocomment) January 19, 2024
His words publicly contradicted Netanyahu, who has previously denied similar accusations.
“We only believe that a two-state solution imposed from outside would bring peace, even if Israel insists on the negative,” added Borrell, on the eve of the meeting in Brussels.
The Palestinian side is deeply divided over the two-state solution: the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has negotiated with Israel; while Hamas, the Palestinian Authority's archrival, has vowed to destroy the Jewish-majority nation.
The dispute over the future of the territory, which comes as the war still rages on with no end in sight, pits the EU, the United States and their Arab allies against Israel's vision and poses a major obstacle to any governance plan. or post-war reconstruction in Gaza.
Israel has yet to achieve its stated goal of “eliminating” Hamas and freeing the more than 100 hostages remaining in the enclave. But Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state and, despite some ambiguous statements from his cabinet, the premier seems to cling to his idea of indefinite military control over Gaza.
Israeli troops storm Al-Khair hospital in southern Gaza
While the diplomatic side tries to mediate, on the ground the Gazans continue to suffer from Israel's incessant bombs and explosions that fall through the sky, sea and land.
After bombing several hospitals – including Al-Aqsa, what was once the largest hospital in the north of the Strip – the troops continue to leave Palestinians without medical centers to treat their serious injuries or take refuge.
This Monday, Israeli soldiers storm Al-Khair hospital and arrest medical staff, denounced the spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra. In addition, they continued bombing in the vicinity of the Nasser hospital, the main hospital in the south of that territory.
The troops arrived there after advancing for the first time towards the Al-Mawasi district, near the Mediterranean coast, west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza.
Israeli tanks besiege Al-Aqsa University & block off the road to Al-Khair & Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis to stop injured people being treated pic.twitter.com/IApMvYLVkO
—Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) January 22, 2024
Likewise, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the tanks of the Netanyahu's army surrounded Al-Amal hospital, also in Khan Younis, headquarters of the rescue agency, and that he lost contact with his staff there.
At least 50 people died during the night attacks in Khan Younis, which would be added to dozens of deaths and injuries left by the sieges of medical facilities in the last hours, places to which rescuers have not been able to access, added the spokesperson for the Health Ministry.
Throughout the enclave At least 190 Palestinians lost their lives and 340 were injured in the last 24 hours alone.
“The Israeli occupation is preventing ambulances from moving to recover the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded in western Khan Younis,” said Ashraf al-Qidra.
Faced with strong criticism for the attacks on hospitals, the Israeli Army justifies that Hamas fighters operate from and around those places, a version refuted by both the Islamist group and medical authorities.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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