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EU PRESSURE ON NETANYAHU TO ACCEPT ARAB STATE
INSIDE
1. EU PRESSURE ON NETANYAHU TO ACCEPT ARAB STATE INSIDE
ISRAEL
by Gil Ronen
The European Union (EU) has resorted to making vague threats
against Israel’s Prime Minister-designate, Binyamin Netanyahu,
to pressure him to support the “the two-state solution,” which
calls for the creation of an Arab state of Palestine inside the
current borders of the Jewish State.
EU members spoke on the subject after a weekend session of EU
foreign ministers that was held at the Hluboka castle in the
Czech Republic - which is the EU’s current rotating
president.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Swarzenberg was asked whether a
failure to reach a two-state agreement between Israel and the
PA would hurt the EU’s relations with Israel, and answered:
“The relations would certainly become problematic. We shall
discuss the repercussions of this matter in one of our next
meetings,” he said.
German Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier said that “we
Europeans insist that, regardless of the governments on both
sides, the two-state solution must top the agenda.”
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that the
upgrading of trade relations between the EU and Israel depends
on the conclusion of a peace deal between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority.
Some of the EU foreign ministers seem to be drawing
encouragement from U.S. President Barack Obama’s statements on
the subject this week. Obama's commitment to the Middle East
“peace process” early in his term means "there is real hope for
progress in the region," Swarzenberg said.
This is the second time in less than a month that the EU has
threatened Israel with dire consequences if it does not agree
to the “two-state” solution. EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana warned that the EU would “reevaluate its ties with
Israel” if the new government does not continue down the road
to the creation of a state of Palestine.
"Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will
relate to an [Israeli] government that is not committed to a
two-state solution will be very, very different," he said
earlier this month.
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