Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, speaks at a joint press conference with Lebanon's foreign minister following their meeting in Beirut on Jan. 6, 2024. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
EU foreign ministers on Monday pressed Israel for an eventual two-state solution with the Palestinians after the war in Gaza, at meetings with the top diplomats from the two sides and key Arab states in Brussels.
The surprise Hamas attack on Oct. 7 on Israel and the subsequent devastating military response from Israel has plunged the Middle East into fresh turmoil and sparked fears of a broader conflict.
But while the bloodshed appears to have driven a long-term solution further out of sight, EU officials insist now is the time to talk about finally resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 27 EU ministers met first with Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz before sitting down separately with the Palestinian Authority's top diplomat, Riyad al-Maliki.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia also held talks with the European ministers.
Israel's assault on Gaza has left over 25,000 Palestinians dead, the vast majority women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Netanyahu has vowed "complete victory" over Hamas after the attack by the Palestinian movement's fighters on Oct. 7 resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
About 250 people were taken back to Gaza as hostages during the attack and Israel says around 132 remain in the besieged enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and defied key backer the United States by rejecting calls for a Palestinian state.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the "humanitarian situation could not be worse" in Gaza. He told Israel that "peace and stability cannot be built only by military means."
"Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill off them?" Borrell said.
'Only solution'
Katz ignored questions from journalists over a future two-state solution and said Israel was focused on returning the hostages and ensuring its own security.
Al-Maliki demanded the EU call for a cease-fire immediately and urged the bloc to consider sanctions against Netanyahu for "destroying the chances for a two-state solution."
"Every day that ... we show hesitancy people are being killed," he said.
The EU has struggled for a united stance on the conflict in Gaza as staunch backers of Israel such as Germany have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire made by the likes of Spain and Ireland.
But there is overall backing in the bloc for a two-state solution.
"The two-state solution is the only solution, and even those who don't want to know about it have not yet come up with any other alternative," said German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.
Borrell circulated what he called a "comprehensive approach" towards finding peace involving the international community holding a conference that would come up with a plan to be put to both Israelis and Palestinians.
The paper said the international community should then eventually "set out the consequences they envisage to attach to engagement or non-engagement with the peace plan" by either side.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Israel's "continuation of measures to undermine the two-state solution is dooming the future of the region to more conflicts and more war."
"The whole world is saying the only way out of this misery is the two-state solution. So the party who's standing against the rights of all peoples of the region, including Israelis, to have peace cannot just be left unaccountable," he said.