Foreign Ministers of European Union Countries Discuss Peace Prospects with Palestinian and Israeli Foreign Ministers Today

Illustration of the European Union. (Wikimedia Commons/Thijs ter Haar)

JAKARTA - The Foreign Ministers of European Union (EU) member states planned to hold separate talks with their Palestinian and Israeli counterparts today, discussing the peace process after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for the creation of a Palestinian State.

The 27 EU ministers will first meet Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz before sitting separately with the Palestinian Authority's top diplomat, Riyad al-Maliki. Katz and Maliki themselves are not expected to meet each other.

Katz and Maliki will also address separately at a meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels later today, which will also be attended by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the Secretary General of the Arab League.

"The idea is to have a full discussion with all participants, both from Israel, Palestine, Arabs, to exchange points of view and try to understand better where everyone is," said the official, reported by The Times of Israel, January 22.

On the same occasion, Head of European Union Foreign Policy Josep Borrell will present a ten-point peace plan between Israel and Palestine.

The EU has struggled to achieve a unified stance on the conflict in Gaza, as staunch Israeli supporters such as Germany have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire made by countries such as Spain and Ireland.

European Union officials have outlined general conditions for the "day after" the end of the war in Gaza, calling for a cessation of hostilities, the return of Israeli hostages, an end to Hamas rule, and the Palestinian Authority's role in administering Gaza.

The centerpiece of the plan is a call for a "peace preparatory conference" to be hosted by the EU, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab League, with the United States and the UN also invited to host the conference.

The conference will go ahead even if Israel or Palestine refuses to take part. However, both sides will be consulted at every stage of the negotiations, as delegates work to develop a peace plan, according to the document.

The internal document, seen by several news agencies including Reuters, makes clear one of the main goals of the peace plan is the creation of an independent Palestinian state, "living side by side with Israel in peace and security".

In a letter to member states, Borrell wrote his roadmap would "outline, with practical proposals, based on agreed principles that only a political, sustainable and long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will bring peace and stability to both peoples in that region."

Meanwhile, according to Euronews, Borrell's plan calls for full normalization between Israel and Arab countries would create an "initial framework" for Israeli-Palestinian peace within a year. There would be "robust security guarantees" for both countries, and the agreement would be "conditional on full mutual diplomatic recognition and integration of Israel and Palestine in the region."

Given these differences, it is unlikely that the 27 EU member states will support Borrell's roadmap.

However, a top EU official said there was no hope of a breakthrough from today's diplomacy.