The European Union discussed the situation in the Middle East in Barcelona and assumes that in the future peace process The Palestinian Authority takes control of the Gaza Strip and displace Hamas.
The meeting took place as part of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum in Barcelona, which Israel did not attend, and which resulted in a common position for an extension of the ceasefire.
The modernist site of Sant Pau in Barcelona hosted it Union for the Mediterranean Regional Forum with the notable absence of Israeli representatives who declined the invitation.
They demand that hostilities cease and international law be respected
The controversy of recent days between Spain and Israel – following Israeli accusations against President Pedro Sánchez of “supporting terrorism” by Hamas – has spilled over into the meeting, where there were disagreements on how to resolve the conflict, although everyone agreed We demand a cessation of hostilities, the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza and respect for international law.
They gathered at the doors of the venue before nine in the morning around thirty people under the motto “Permanent ceasefire”with Palestinian flags and chants of “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israel.”
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, has warned that this “very serious humanitarian crisis” in Gaza is “untenable” and has opted for an extension of the ceasefire.
Borrell, who stressed that “this is not a war between Jews and Muslims” nor a “war of civilizations,” warned that there will be “not a military solution” to the problem, but rather “Israel will only be able to live in peace and security if a political solution is found” This makes it possible to “break the cycle of violence”.
He recalled that the “two-state solution,” one Israeli and one Palestinian, has long been defended but “little or nothing has been done to make it a reality.”
According to Borrell, “concrete steps” must first be taken to achieve this goal extend the ceasefireGetting Hamas to “lose control” of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and preventing “illegal colonization” in the West Bank.
Albares does not see Hamas as a “partner for peace”
Already at the opening of the forum, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, host of the meeting, defended himself the “effective return” of the Palestinian Authority to Gazainstead of Hamas, which cannot be a “partner for peace” in the Middle East.
Albares, who met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, said that the Israeli ambassador in Madrid had been summoned to express an “open denial” of the allegations against Sánchez and to ask for “guarantees” that this will not be the case again. .
The forum held in Barcelona was co-chaired by Borrell and Ayman SafadI, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan.
The nuances of the Jordanian minister
In the press conference at the end of the forum, Safadi blamed the Israeli government Committing “genocide” against the Palestinians and has defended that peace requires the implementation of the two-state solution, the end of the Israeli “occupation” and the restoration of Palestine’s 1967 borders.
However, when considering the European proposal for the Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza, he was evasive: “Palestinians have the right to self-determination and to decide who governs them. We have to be very careful and focus only on Gaza. Gaza must be viewed as part of the entire occupied Palestinian territory. “Just seeing Gaza means fueling future conflict.”
For his part, the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, the Egyptian Nasser Kamel, called for an end to “this madness” with reference to the war in Gaza and called on Europe to impose the same standards in the conflict between Israel and Palestine as in the Russian occupation of the Ukraine.