FILE PHOTO: European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell looks on during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, November 17, 2023. Nasser Nasser/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
By Joan Faus
BARCELONA (Reuters) -Arab states and the European Union agreed at a meeting in Spain on Monday that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza.
Borrell said all EU members attending the meeting of Mediterranean nations in Barcelona and almost all attendees had agreed on the need for a two-state solution.
The Palestinian Authority must hold elections as soon as possible to gain further legitimacy and improve its functioning, as the only “viable solution” to the future leadership of Gaza, currently run by Hamas Islamists, he said.
“I believe is the only viable solution, but it will be viable if the international community backs it. Otherwise, we will see a power vacuum that will be fertile ground for all sorts of violent organisations,” Borrell said at a press conference.
An initial four-day truce has been extended by two days, mediator Qatar said, in the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
In response to that attack, Israel bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza health authorities say, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said any talk of administration of Gaza after the conflict should focus on the West Bank and Gaza as one entity and that the Palestinian people should decide who rules them.
A two-state solution envisages a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said the Palestinian Authority, which lost control of the Gaza Strip in a 2007 power struggle with Hamas, had no need to return to Gaza, adding: “We have been there all the time, we have 60,000 public workers there.”
They were speaking at the conclusion of a meeting of the Forum for the Union of the Mediterranean in Barcelona, a 43-member grouping of European, North African and Middle Eastern countries. Israel did not attend the summit.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke as a representative of a group of ministers from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
“We delivered our message, it’s important that we have a ceasefire immediately, that we build on the current truce that is in place,” he told reporters after the conference ended.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the absence of Israel due to apparent concern over “one-sided hostility” underscored “deep rifts”.
“That is precisely why I am here today, even though these meetings were not previously given a high profile by Germany. Precisely because the rifts are getting deeper, we have to sit together, we have to talk and hear each other out,” she said.
(Reporting by Joan Faus; Writing by David Latona and Aislinn Laing, Editing by Ed Osmond, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie and Alison Williams)
News Related
-
Window opens for Zahid to ride off into the sunset – but at Anwar’s cost Sources within Umno have not ruled out strong speculation since last month about a so-called “exit plan” for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, a move that could pave the way for his political retirement having survived more ...
See Details:
Window opens for Zahid to ride off into the sunset – but at Anwar's cost
-
Brianna Ghey died after she was found with fatal stab wounds in a park Two teenagers accused of murdering Brianna Ghey showed a “preoccupation” with “violence, torture and death”, a court has heard. The body of Brianna, 16, who was transgender, was discovered by dog walkers in a park in ...
See Details:
Murder-accused teens 'had preoccupation with torture'
-
ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY Guard Corps Commander-in-Cheif Major General Hossein Salami speaks at an anti-Israel protest in Tehran on Saturday. The IRGC trained Hezbollah to use human shields, say the writers. The conflict in Gaza has raised a deeply troubling issue: Reports suggest that Hamas is deliberately using civilians as shields, a ...
See Details:
A plea for Islamic voices against using human shields - opinion
-
Photo for illustration purposes only. – BERNAMA FILE PIX SHAH ALAM – The government needs to strengthen the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, especially with the exemption of visas for Chinese and Indian citizens visiting the country starting Dec 1. Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economic expert Emeritus Professor Dr ...
See Details:
Strengthen MM2H programme, promote multiple entry visa
-
GEG element removed from anti-smoking Bill KUALA LUMPUR: The generational end-game (GEG) element has been removed from the revised Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 28). This is as the Health Ministry tries for the ...
See Details:
GEG element removed from anti-smoking Bill
-
-
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Malaysia Airlines launches year-end sale
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Dr M accuses govt of bribery over allocations
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Malaysia to check if the Netherlands still keen to send flood experts
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Appeals court to rule in Isa’s graft case on Jan 31
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Elephants Trample On Axia With Family Of Three Inside
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Sirul fitted with monitoring device
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Nigerian airliner lands at wrong airport
OTHER NEWS
THOSE looking for fresh produce may find themselves spoilt for choice at the biggest wet market in Klang, but visitors to the place say the condition of the facilities and ...
Read more »
Olive Grove is the first-ever gated-and-guarded development in Bercham, Ipoh with 24-hour security. IPOH: YTL Land and Development Bhd announced that Phase 1 of Olive Grove is fully sold while ...
Read more »
Screenshots of a video showing a teenager pointing a knife at an elderly e-hailing driver. PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested a 13-year-old boy for holding an elderly e-hailing driver at ...
Read more »
Sprint Highway’s Semantan To KL Slip Road Fully Closed Until Dec 31 If you’re a regular user of the Sprint expressway, you’ll need to do some planning for your trips ...
Read more »
Genshin Impact Version 4.3 Leak Showcases Update to Domains New leaks reveals a quality-of-life update to Domains in Genshin Impact, making it easier for players to repeat and farm resources. ...
Read more »
CG Computers will host the Urban Republic (UR) Warehouse Clearance from 30 November to 3 December at the Atria Shopping Gallery in Petaling Jaya. During the event, visitor can get ...
Read more »
Photo for illustrative purposes only – 123RF KUALA LUMPUR – Hyperinflation has never happened in Malaysia and the government hopes it will never happen, according to the Economy Ministry. It ...
Read more »