Israel’s attack on Hamas is failing to root out the militant group, the EU’s top foreign policy chief said, as he urged parties to start thinking more concretely about a two-state peace process, according to Bloomberg.
“Certainly, the way they’re trying to destroy Hamas is not the way they’re doing, because they’re seeding the hate for generations,” Josep Borrell told reporters Monday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
The EU ministers will also be joined throughout the day by the top envoys from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, as well as the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League.
The EU’s foreign policy arm has proposed ideas about a two-state solution to the bloc’s member states, including how countries might be able to impose conditions in the future to safeguard that solution, according to a senior EU official.
Israel rebuffed a settlement for postwar Gaza proposed by five Arab nations with US backing. The framework being pushed by the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, together with Israel’s neighbors Egypt and Jordan, offers aid on condition the Israeli government works toward Palestinian statehood.
Asked about the Israeli government’s rejection of a Palestinian state, Borrell stressed the solution has been approved by the United Nations and the international community.
“So they don’t agree, we have to discuss,” Borrell said. “Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill off them?”
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said if the Israelis don’t think a two-state solution is an answer, then “they’re very isolated.”
“The support for Israel is at risk to shrink very quickly to a very low level,” Bettel said, adding it’s in their interest to come to the table.
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said Belgium planned to organize a peace process in Brussels in the near future with the hopes of “restarting political dialog.”
Several ministers also renewed calls for the release of the Israel hostages held by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by Israel and the EU.