EU's top diplomat warns against Trump Middle East peace plan, annexation
“Steps towards annexation, if implemented, could not pass unchallenged,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFJordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al Safadi and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of European Commission Josep Borrell speak to the media after their meeting in Amman, Jordan, February 2, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/MUHAMMAD HAMED)
The European Union on Tuesday warned Israel against annexing West Bank settlements.“We are especially concerned by statements on the prospect of annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement issued by his office.“In line with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the EU does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied since 1967,” Borrell said.“Steps towards annexation, if implemented, could not pass unchallenged,” he added. He spoke after holding meetings in Iran and Jordan.Israel’s Foreign Ministry tweeted: “The fact that the High [Representative] of the EU, Josep Borrell, chose to use threatening language towards Israel, so shortly after he assumed office [and] only hours after his meetings in Iran, is regrettable [and], to say the least, odd.“Pursuing such policies [and] conduct is the best way to ensure that the EU's role in any process will be minimized,” the Foreign Ministry continued.Borrell highlighted the issue of annexation, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing whether to bring to a vote the issue of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements prior to the March 2 election. The US has asked Netanyahu to hold off, but has said that it recognizes the Israeli right to sovereignty over the West Bank settlements, all of which are located in Area C of the West Bank.US President Donald Trump clarified his position on this when he unveiled the diplomatic portion of his peace plan, dubbed the “Deal of the Century,” at the White House last week.The plan was not based on the pre-1967 lines and fell outside the parameters of past proposal on some key points. It offered Israel 30% of the West Bank – and allowed for the application of sovereignty over that 30% in the first stages of the process.“The EU recalls its commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, based on 1967 lines, with equivalent land swaps, as may be agreed between the parties – with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable State of Palestine, living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition – as set out in the Council Conclusions of July 2014," Borrell said.
"The US initiative, as presented on 28 January, departs from these internationally agreed parameters.”The EU has long supported a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.Borrell issued his statements two days before US special envoy Jared Kushner, the architect of the Trump administration’s peace process, is expected to brief the UN Security Council.Next Tuesday, on February 11, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to brief the Security Council, and may attempt to bring a resolution against the plan to a vote. The US, as one of the five Security Council member states with veto power, is expected to veto any such resolution.
