More than 400 European parliaments have urged leaders to use Joe Biden’s new presidency as an opportunity to stop what they mean by Israel’s “de-facto annex” on the West Bank.
A letter seen by AFP was signed by 400 European politicians from across a range of backgrounds serving in national legislatures and senators or in the European parliament.
Speaking to European foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the letter argues that “the Biden administration offers a chance to make amends” in Middle East diplomacy.
“The previous U.S. administration left the conflict farther away from peace than ever before,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump broke with much of the international consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Former US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu unveil his Mideast peace plan
(Photo: EPA)
Trump identified Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” of Israel and moved the Washington embassy there, forcing Palestinians claiming the city’s east to be the capital of their state at the time. future.
The State Department under Trump also said they no longer saw Jewish settlements in the West Bank on which they were illegal.
Trump’s peace plan widely criticized designated parts of the West Bank for its involvement in Israel.
‘The power of peace’
While Trump’s plan is dead, settlement expansion continues, with Israel consistently allowing the construction of new homes for countries on Palestinian territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Trump, agreed to block plans by the West Bank’s reorganization in exchange for diplomatic normalization with the United Arab Emirates.
“However, developments on the ground clearly mark the reality of rapid progress in de facto development, particularly through accelerated settlement expansion and the demolition of Palestinian structures,” the letter said.
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Palestinian workers work at a construction site in the city of Israel at Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem
(Photo: AP)
“Europe must work with the Biden administration, countries in the region and the parties on the ground to prevent unilateral action that weakens the potential for peace, advance the rights and security of all is under the effective control of Israel. “
Israel took control of the West Bank in the Six Day War of 1967, when it also gained control of East Jerusalem, an area it later annexed.
The European Union demands that any Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty must be based on Israeli borders before 1967 – a position that has been rejected across much of Israel’s political spectrum.
Biden has said his administration will reinvigorate the U.S. challenge against the expansion of West Bank settlements, but has no plans to move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv.
The letter also said that Gaza, the blocked Egyptian and Israeli Mediterranean coalition, is “still at risk of violent escalation at any moment”, blaming both the ban and ” regions within Palestine ”.
Hamas Islamists who have controlled Gaza since 2007 have long been rivals of Fatah militants gaining control of the Palestinian Authority, but both sides are engaged in pushing unity ahead of elections Palestine requested later this year.
“Palestinian reconciliation and elections throughout the whole of Palestinian territory are crucial, including as a basis for ending Gaza’s remoteness,” the letter said.