The European Union and a number of Arab states have unveiled a new initiative that aims to restart peace talks between Israel and Palestine.
The “Peace Day Effort” initiative was supported by the EU, the Arab League, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. It was launched on Monday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Three working groups will address different issues of the initiative, such as security co-operation arrangements, humanitarian issues, investment, economic co-operation and innovation. The final “Peace Package” will be presented in September 2024.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell notes that the world cannot “stand idly by repeating the mantra of a two-state solution without doing everything possible to achieve it. The result of the meeting was a stronger commitment by many people to work more actively on the two-state solution, which is the only viable solution.” Borrell thinks that there is “there is not a viable other solution” than the two-state solution.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were suspended in 2014 when the Obama administration’s attempt failed. President Trump also attempted to launch a peace initiative in 2020, but the Palestinians rejected the proposal.
In recent years, Israel has openly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state. Earlier this year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich began to deny the very existence of a Palestinian people.
