STRASBOURG—‘’The EU is convinced and will continue to be united and clear on this conviction that is in the interest of the Israelis, the Palestinian and the region, to continue to have in mind a two-state objective, a two-state solution. That it is vital also for the security of Israelis and of Israel as such,’’ declared European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Mogherini made a speech a special speech at the plenary session of the parliament ‘’on the US recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory and the possible annexation of the West Bank settlements. ‘’’
On the U.S. administration’s recognition of the Golan Heights, she said ‘’the EU has a very simple and clear position that I have had the possibility to reiterate and restate in very clear manner over time and more recently.’’ She stated that ‘’the EU does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over any of the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, in line with international law and with UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 497. And this also applies to the Golan Heights.’’
She added that the five EU Member States who currently sit in the United Nations Security Council – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland – ‘’have expressed this common position in New York in a joint stake-out.’’ ‘’We always ask the EU and its Member States to speak with one voice, this was effectively done in this case and it is not the only one I have to say,’’ she stressed.
‘’The idea that you can change borders with the use of military force is a dangerous one in Europe, in the Middle East, elsewhere,’’ Mogherini said as she believes that that even though Israel acquired the Golan Heights in a defensive war, it cannot retain it.
Turning to Israel’s government’s settlement policy in the West Bank, she said she woud not comment ‘’on the potential policies of a future government that is not even established yet.’’
Mogherini has so far refrained from making any comment on the electoral victory of Prime Minister, as te new government is not yet in office.
During the electoral campaign, Netanyahu promised that if elected, hhe would annex portions of Area C of the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank territory from Jordan in the Six Day War in June 1967 but never annexed it. Area C of the West Bank, where all the Israeli settlements are located, is under Israeli military and civilian rule. Areas A and B are under the autonomy of the Palestinian Authority.
In he speech, Mogherini deplored that ‘’the two-state solution is not only fading away, it is being dismantled piece by piece.’’ She said over the past months Israeli settlement construction has continued. ‘’Only last week, plans for more than 4,600 new housing units were advanced by the Israeli authorities. Right after the announcement, we issued a statement to repeat that we consider all settlement activity illegal under international law, and that settlements erode the viability of the two-state solution.’’
She said the EU believes that ‘’ abandoning the two-state solution would bring greater chaos, not only to the Holy Land but also to the entire Middle East that is already facing a very difficult situation for the proliferation of crises we have seen in the region in the last years.’’
‘’The next escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine could easily spiral out of control, and it would have tragic consequences in a region as unstable as today’s Middle East,’’ she added.
‘’Our first duty then is to keep the two-state perspective alive, and to preserve the possibility of new negotiations toward peace to take place,’’ she declared.
She said ‘’any future plan for Israel and Palestine will have to start from the internationally agreed parameters, recognizing them. These include the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, and the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of the two-states.’’
‘’The EU will recognize changes to the pre-1967 borders only if and when agreed by the parties, including with regard to Jerusalem,’’ Mogherini said.
‘’The two-state solution is first and foremost essential for peace but it is also essential for security, starting with the security of Israel, it is essential for democracy both in Israel and in Palestine. It is essential to guarantee a truly sustainable economic growth for both Israelis and Palestinians.’’
Her statements came as the Trump administration is believed to make public its much anticipated peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which it has warned would deviate from the parameters of past efforts toward a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines.
see https://europa.eu/!GG39uK