Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, emphasized Friday that the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a fundamental interest of the EU. According to the EU newsroom, “the EU’s objective is a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours.”
“You will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be My people, and I will be Your God.” (Ezekiel 36:28)
On Friday, the Middle East Quartet released its report on the threats to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In terms of those threats, the report equated Palestinian terrorism with the establishment of Jewish settlements in Israel’s ancient heartland. It also urged the establishment of a Palestinian state through negotiations.
The report pitched Israel’s settlements and Palestinian terrorism as being incompatible with a “peaceful resolution.”
“The Quartet reiterates that a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to achieve an enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty,” the report surmises while calling on Israel to end what it calls “the occupation that began in 1967” with the capture of territory occupied by Jordan since 1949.
Jordan took that territory when it fought, along with the surrounding Arab nations, against the establishment of a Jewish state. Israel won it back after Jordan and other nations once again attacked Israel in 1967.
Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (middle) with the Middle East Quartet: Ambassador Sergey Vershinin, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Russian MFA; Robert Serry, UN Quartet Envoy; Frank Lowenstein, US Quartet Envoy; Helga Schmid, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service (Council of the European Union photo)
The four world bodies: the United States, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations, agreed that a “two-state solution” would become “increasingly remote” if the situation continues “on the current course.”
The report identified illicit Palestinian arms buildup, militant activity, continuing violence, terrorist attacks against civilians, and incitement to violence as factors “severely” undermining hopes for peace.
The quartet condemned the violence that began in October 2015, noting the more than 250 attacks and attempted attacks by Palestinians against Israelis in the form of “stabbings, shootings, vehicular attacks and a bombing.”
The report also condemned Palestinian incitement, including the Palestinians’ public glorification of terrorists as “heroic martyrs” and wide circulation of violent slogans by Hamas and other “radical factions,” not to mention the support of attacks and their perpetrators by members of Abbas’ Fatah party.
On Israel’s side, the Quartet rejected “the continuing policy of settlement construction and expansion.”
The Quartet report also pointed to “Price Tag” attacks (graffiti and the destruction of property) carried out by religious extremists in Israel, “and some social media sites have included references to justifications for violence against Palestinians.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (GPO photo by Amos Ben Gershom)
A statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office welcomed “the Quartet’s recognition of the centrality of Palestinian incitement and violence to the perpetuation of the conflict. This culture of hatred poisons minds and destroys lives and stands as the single greatest obstacle to progress towards peace.”
“Israel,” the statement stressed, “rejects any attempt to draw moral equivalence between construction and terrorism. So too do we reject the parallels suggested between the campaign of Palestinian terrorism and the violence of marginal elements in Israeli society. The former is lauded by the Palestinian leadership. The latter is utterly condemned and rejected by Israelis across the board.”
In contrast to Israel’s condemnation of such evil, “Palestinian praise for murderers today inspires those who will strike tomorrow,” the statement reads. “This response reflects the moral bankruptcy of the Palestinian leadership and leaves little doubt about its true intentions.”
Silence can be just as supportive of violence as encouragement; indeed, Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, has not condemned the Palestinian who brutally murdered 13-year-old Israeli-American Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bed this past week.
