BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 As distant as the prospect of peace might seem, European Union leaders believe it is time to start laying the foundations for a future relationship between Israel and the Palestinians where the militant group Hamas does not control Gaza.
Mindful that resentment and even conflict in the wider Middle East and Gulf regions have been fueled by decades of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the 27-nation bloc has begun exploring ways to realize a long-held EU ideal 鈥 two states living peacefully side by side.
As the Palestinian death toll climbed beyond 7,000 and Israel carried out airstrikes on Friday in response to the into southern Israel, EU leaders meeting in Brussels for a second day encouraged broader diplomatic and security initiatives to stop the conflict from spreading, and ultimately from ever starting again.
鈥淭he history of this conflict didn鈥檛 begin with the attacks on Oct. 7 and won鈥檛 end with a land war in Gaza,鈥 Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very clear: 75 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, wars, terrorist attacks, huge instability. This won鈥檛 end because of a military solution. It can鈥檛.鈥
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that 鈥渁 pure security policy and a pure security solution is part of the reason (this conflict) has happened. So at some point a political dialogue needs to start.鈥
Apart from its aid and trade leverage, the 27-nation bloc has to play in the conflict. It backs Israel鈥檚 right to defend itself against Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. Hamas is holding at least 229 captives inside Gaza, including dozens of EU citizens.
But as civilian casualties in Gaza mount, it also wants Israel to respect international law. Hamas is on the EU鈥檚 list of terror organizations and receives no funding from the bloc. Indeed, a review of its substantial assistance to the Palestinians is underway to ensure that none leaks to the group.
The EU member nations have long been divided in their positions on the region 鈥 Austria, Germany and Hungary staunch backers of Israel, Spain and Ireland more vocal in their support for the Palestinians 鈥 but the bloc does have credibility as a European project founded on peace.
鈥淎ll 27 countries agreed to this,鈥 Varadkar told reporters. 鈥淭hat there should be a two-state solution, and that we need to have a peace conference, and that the European Union needs to be part of that.鈥
The EU has for years tried to promote the idea of an Israeli and a Palestinian state with borders set mostly as they were in 1967 鈥 before Israel captured and occupied the West Bank and Gaza 鈥 with some land swaps agreed between them. Both would have Jerusalem as their shared capital.
In a statement agreed overnight, the leaders said they are 鈥渞eady to contribute to reviving a political process on the basis of the two-state solution.鈥 They also said the EU 鈥渨elcomes diplomatic peace and security initiatives and supports the holding of an international peace conference soon.鈥
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the peace conference must be held within six months.
It will mean working more closely with Israel鈥檚 neighbors, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as with Gulf countries like Qatar, which has the kind of relations with Hamas that could help get hostages released. Iran鈥檚 demands would have to be managed. Saudi Arabia and Turkey could play key roles.
Top EU officials concede that their international peace efforts so far have not been effective. This is the fifth war between Israel and Hamas, and the number of deaths in the past three weeks exceeds the combined tally of those killed in the previous four, which is .
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 stop this cycle of violence, it will happen again in the future. The level of trust between Israeli and Palestinian, which was already extremely low in recent years, is now at the level of the Dead Sea,鈥 EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote in a blog this week.
鈥淧eace will not come by itself; it has to be built,鈥 added Borrell, who leads international diplomatic efforts on behalf of the EU. 鈥淭he two-state solution remains the only viable one we know. And if we only have one solution, we must put all our political energy into achieving it.鈥
