Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ] Yasser Arafat calls Europe to protect peace in the Middle East! Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being pressured to launch a full-scale invasion that Israeli leaders have been scrupulously avoiding since 2005. An Attack From Gaza and an Israeli Declaration of War. Now What?
Thirty years ago, on 13 September 1993, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands to seal the "Oslo Accords," which were supposed to lead to a permanent settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within five years. I remember feeling at that time the hope of finally seeing an end to the already decades long Arab-Israeli-Palestinian tragedy. In 2023, what is left? There is neither peace nor peace process. Hope has turned into resentment and despair, and this anniversary went virtually unnoticed.
On the ground, the conflict is heating up once again. This year already saw more than 200 Palestinian and 35 Israeli fatalities. Terrorist attacks, both by Palestinian militants against Israelis and by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are back at record levels. Israel continues to expand settlements in the West Bank: at the time of the Oslo accords, there were 280,000 settlers; today there are more than 700,000. Settler violence, the separation barrier, demolitions, and other measures are gradually pushing the Palestinian population off their land in many areas of the West Bank, while the humanitarian disaster in Gaza continues unabated, with no end in sight.
Meanwhile, domestic support for the internationally recognised Palestinian leadership is at an all-time low, compounded by a growing lack of funding. In contrast, Israel has become a thriving “start-up nation”, in spite of an imperfect security environment. The need to change the status quo is not felt as acutely in Tel Aviv as it is in Ramallah, but the conflict is not going away: the idea that Israel could go forward without making peace with the Palestinians is a dangerous illusion.
The continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions and of some of the most fundamental principles of international law is eroding trust in a rules-based international order, not just in the region but across the globe. It is therefore more necessary and urgent than ever for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to, and mobilise for, peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Since years now, we, the EU and the international community, are defending a Two-State Solution with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. Because of Israel’s fait accompli policy, this solution may seem less and less viable on the ground. However, which other alternative could allow Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace? Nobody is able to articulate any other plausible answer.
The establishment of diplomatic ties between some Arab States and Israel, vital as it is for regional peace, has so far not brought Israelis and Palestinians closer to peace. Therefore, together with the League of Arab States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, we have decided to make a joint contribution to help revitalize the Two-State solution.
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This initiative cannot of course be a substitute for a genuine peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. And the Peace Supporting Package alone will not be sufficient to overcome the many obstacles to peace, but it can provide an incentive to go in this direction – not only by the benefits it offers, but also by reminding the conflict parties that only a negotiated solution is a viable and acceptable strategic option.
While our Israeli and Palestinian friends are not yet negotiating peace, we have embarked on this journey to help keep the Two-State Solution alive, hoping that, together, we can bring it within closer reach. As remote as peace in the Middle East may appear today, echoing the words of Nelson Mandela that ‘‘it always seems impossible until it’s done”, we will keep trying. For the sake of the legitimate rights of Palestinians, of sustainable long-term security for Israelis, of peace and development in the region and of the credibility of the international rules-based order, the world cannot afford the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be forgotten.
As Mr. Netanyahu told Israelis in declaring war: “We will bring the fight to them with a might and scale that the enemy has not yet known,” adding that the Palestinian groups would pay a heavy price.
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#eudebates the unique initiative aiming to promote debate, dialogue, knowledge, participation and communication among citizens. #Israel #Palestine #Arafat #Rabin #Netanyahu #Jerusalem #Palestinians #MiddleEast #gaza
