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EU foreign ministers underscore West Bank position, strongly oppose Israel boycotts
The foreign ministers of European Union (EU) member states yesterday adopted a resolution which highlighted the EU’s distinction between territory within Israel’s pre-1967 borders and beyond, including the West Bank. It also called for a multilateral approach to peace and expressed strong opposition towards attempts to boycott Israel.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council circulated a draft resolution last week. It is understood that at Israel’s request, objections by Poland, Hungary and in particular Greece helped soften the final language.
Nonetheless, the final text states that “all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.” It also called for an end to “all settlement activity” in the West Bank. In November, the EU issued guidelines which called for the separate consumer labelling of West Bank goods. The move was condemned by Israeli government and opposition leaders, who said that the move would do nothing to help bring about a two-state solution. Yesterday’s statement clearly stated that the position though “does not constitute a boycott of Israel which the EU strongly opposes.”
More generally, the resolution reiterated EU support for a two-state solution, “that meets Israeli and Palestinian security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty.” To this end, it pledged support “towards a renewed multilateral approach to the peace process,” suggesting an international conference “on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative” which envisages a regional peace settlement between Israel and the Arab League countries.
However, Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticised the statement as it “ignores the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority for the diplomatic freeze and incitement that feeds the wave of Palestinian terrorism.” It also said that the EU is guilty of singling out Israel from “200 territorial conflicts in the world.” Opposition leader and Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog lamented that the statement fails to “distinguish between legitimate settlement blocs and isolated outposts and that’s a gross injustice.”