Brussels, 18 September 2023
The High Representative/Vice President (HR/VP) Josep Borrell co-hosted the International Peace Institute’s (IPI) annual dinner with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and IPI President Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Sunday in New York. The discussion focused on the situation in the wider Middle East and in particular the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Participants discussed what the international community could do to ease the tensions; break the negative cycle of violence; bring the parties closer; and to restore a political horizon.
The HR/VP reiterated the necessity to stop unilateral actions that undermine the two-state solution, and called on everyone to condemn terrorism. The HR/VP also noted the importance for the Palestinian Authority to strengthen its legitimacy, by holding national elections and proceeding with intra-Palestinian reconciliation.
Finally, the High Representative stressed the need to continue funding Palestinian state-building, as well as to ensure adequate funding for UN organisations, such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme, which require urgent new financial support to continue delivering essential services to Palestinians and Palestine refugees.
The European Union remains firm in its commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both Israel and Palestine and respects the international parameters, and all relevant United Nations resolutions.
Given the urgency to restore a political horizon and give new impetus to the peace process, the “Peace Day Effort” Ministerial meeting co-organised by the EU, Saudi Arabia and League of Arab States, Egypt, and Jordan on Monday, 18 September 2023 will allow for a broad international discussion on concrete steps to advance our shared objective of comprehensive peace, security, and prosperity in the region.
Source – EEAS