European Union pushes for Palestinian statehood, expresses worry over Israel’s opposition

Brussels, January 22

European Union foreign ministers argued on Monday that the creation of a Palestinian state was the only credible way to achieve peace in the West Asia and they expressed concern about Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s clear rejection of the idea.

“The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all,” French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters in Brussels, where the EU ministers met to discuss the war in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also were in Belgium’s capital for the discussion. The issue of Gaza’s future also has set Israel in opposition to the US and its Arab allies as they work to mediate an end to the fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory.

In Jerusalem, a group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza stormed a parliamentary committee session, demanding that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. The action by about 20 people signalled growing domestic dissent in the fourth month of the Gaza war against Hamas. Families and supporters are camping outside PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s coastal home as well as the Knesset building. Meanwhile, Netanyahu pushed back after speculation that a new release of Gaza hostages was in the works, saying Israel was taking an unspecified initiative in the absence of an offer by Hamas. — Agencies