The 12-point plan, sent to European capitals on the eve of this Monday’s meeting in Brussels together with several key actors in the region in conflict and advanced by other means during the weekend, insists on the need to “prepare now , in view of the current situation and despite the obvious difficulties and uncertainties, a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.” Because the “absence” of a vision of this type will only “prolong the current violence and prepare the ground for greater radicalization and new conflicts” which, beyond its implications in the region, also constitutes a “great risk of security, political and immigration for the region and for Europe,” the document warns.
Borrell’s plan involves, as the head of European diplomacy has been insistently emphasizing, a solution of two States that “live side by side, in peace and security” and that foresees the celebration, “soon”, in the ” first possible opportunity”, of a “preparatory” peace conference with the Arab allies of the region, the United States, the UN and “potential contributors to a comprehensive peace.” In such a preparatory conference, which should be accompanied by “separate meetings with each of the parties to the conflict”—since, at the moment, it is almost impossible to seat everyone at the same table or even convince some parties to initiate negotiations—an “initial draft for a peace plan” must be presented with an agenda for it to be completed “within a year,” the document adds.
“We have to stop talking regarding the peace process and start talking more specifically regarding the two-state process, let’s talk regarding what we want to do, and what we want is a two-state solution,” Borrell recalled at the beginning of the meeting. ministers, in which the proposal of the head of European diplomacy for a mission to protect navigation in the Red Sea, in which Spain has already said that it will not participate, will also be discussed – although no specific decision is anticipated.
The initiative for a peace plan for the Middle East with specific horizons and concrete goals has, on the contrary, clear Spanish support: “Spain is totally in favor of taking one more step, not only to talk regarding a two-state solution, but of the materialization of two States and a Palestinian State (…) realistic and viable, which means having Gaza and the West Bank under the same Palestinian Authority, connected and with access to the sea and with its capital in East Jerusalem,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who recalled that this is “the core and substance” of the Spanish proposal for a peace conference that received approval from community partners last year.
The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, has also described it as “a step in the right direction”, while his Irish counterpart, Michéal Martin, has urged the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to reject the creation of a State Palestinian, to “listen to the rest of the world that wants a two-state solution. There is no other alternative on the table that is sustainable and can be durable in the future,” he recalled.
The peace plan proposed by Borrell should include, the document emphasizes, “robust security guarantees” for Israel and a future “independent” Palestinian state. Although the parties should be consulted “constantly” throughout the peace process, their willingness to accept a solution, the document indicates, especially in view of the Israeli Government’s refusal to accept a Palestinian state, should not be an impediment. to continue peace negotiations, which should “start and continue also at times when one or the other party to the conflict is not willing to participate” in the talks. Of course, the final text must be negotiated between both, although, to “favor” these negotiations, the States and organizations that have participated in the peace process “should make clear at that moment the consequences they foresee with regard to acceptance.” or non-acceptance of the peace plan.”
The difficulty of seating the two main parties at the same negotiating table for the moment was made explicit this Monday in Brussels, where the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, did not even mention the issue of possible talks or the creation of a Palestinian State upon arrival at his meeting with his counterparts from the Twenty-Seven. In brief statements to the press, Katz, who showed photos of some of the youngest Israeli hostages held by Hamas, limited himself to indicating that the return of all hostages from his country, as well as the “recovery of security” of Israel, are the two topics on his agenda in the Belgian capital.
In addition to the meeting with Katz, the EU Foreign Ministers held a breakfast this Monday with their Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, with whom they also plan to hold a lunch extended to other key actors in the region: their counterparts from Jordan, Ayman Safidi, and Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as well as with the head of the Arab League, Ahmed Abu Gheit. In the followingnoon, the European ministers also invited the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al Maliki, to sit in their plenary session, before returning to discuss together behind closed doors a conflict in which the EU has not yet achieved a univocal voice.
In fact, although on Friday the 27 EU states approved a new sanctions regime once morest those who provide financial aid to Hamas, the second part of Borrell’s proposal – also sanctioning violent extremist settlers in the West Bank – has not yet achieved the required unanimity of all member states, although the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, expressed his hope that an agreement in this regard can be reached “in the coming days.”
The ministers also discussed this Monday regarding the war in Ukraine, a country that can count on the support of the EU “as strong as ever,” Borrell and several ministers assured upon their arrival at the meeting, in which their minister participated by teleconference. Ukrainian peer, Dmitro Kuleba. “The fact that we are involved in seeking a solution in the Middle East does not mean that we do not continue to support Ukraine,” stressed the head of European diplomacy. The big decisions, especially the necessary Ukrainian financing, will however be taken at the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government set for February 1, in which an attempt will be made to reverse or circumvent the Hungarian veto to approve the committed multi-year financial aid. 50 billion for Ukraine.
Borrell’s 12 steps
Start a peace process
1. Launch of an initiative that addresses the future security of Israelis and Palestinians, the stabilization of the occupied territories and the recovery and governance of Gaza.
2. Type of peace model: Commitment to the two-state solution over other formulas; another mechanism would be perceived as a prolongation of the occupation in Gaza and the absence of peace will prolong the violence.
Search partners
3. An independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel will also have positive consequences in Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Syrian conflicts.
4. Partners and neighbors of Israelis and Palestinians, such as the EU, must help them achieve peace because neither side is now prepared to negotiate directly.
Celebrate the Preparatory Peace Conference
5. Organize the Preparatory Peace Conference between the EU, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the League of Arab States to address the Gaza war, but above all the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
6. At the conference, Foreign Ministers and heads of participating international organizations must meet separately with each of the conflicting parties so that work begins even if they do not want to sit together.
7. Subsequently, present an initial draft framework for a Peace Plan, develop it and prepare an agenda to complete it within one year, through working groups.
Develop a peace plan
8. The Plan must set out the central elements of an Israeli-Palestinian peace, respecting the relevant UNSC Resolutions and building on previous peace negotiations.
9. The Plan must guarantee security for Israel and the future independent State of Palestine and establish what political and security mechanisms and what other agreements and projects will be put in place when peace is achieved.
Engage the parties in conflict
10. Consult the parties in conflict at every step of the development of the Peace Plan, although the work will also continue at times when any of them are not willing to commit.
11. Present the Plan to the parties so that they can negotiate the final text. States and organizations must state the consequences they foresee whether the parties commit to the plan or not.
Parallel efforts
12. While the Peace Plan is developed, work for the entry of humanitarian aid, the release of the hostages, avoid a regional escalation, and facilitate the recovery of Gaza and the affected communities in Israel, among others.
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