Portuguese Foreign Minister Santos Silva is due to visit Jerusalem on Monday and Ramallah on Tuesday before Lisbon takes up the presidency of the Council of the European Union from January until June.
This is Silva’s second visit to Israel as Portuguese Foreign Minister. He was last here in 2016. He also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Lisbon in 2019.
Apart from advancing Israeli-Portuguese relations, the trip is part of Silva’s preparatory work before taking over the presidency from Germany.
Israel and the EU have strong ties but are at odds over critical issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iran deal.
The EU holds that a Palestinian State should be based on the pre-1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital, and is a supporter of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Israel, by contrast, says that a two-state resolution of the conflict should not be based on the pre-1967 lines, and believes that the Iran deal should be scrapped.
The issue of Iran is particularly relevant because US President-elect Joe Biden has indicated that he would want to return to the deal, which the US exited in 2018.
Silva has in the past spoken in favor of the Iran deal and against the sanctions, which the Trump administration reimposed on Iran.
Among the topics that are likely to be discussed is the dormant EU-Israel Association Council, which last met in 2012. The council regulates and advances Israeli-EU ties. The EU suspended the annual meeting to protest Israel’s settlement activity. In light of Israel’s pledge to suspend West Bank annexation, there has been a push for the council to reconvene.
Possible Portuguese restrictions on its Law of Return, by which it offers citizenship to descendants of Portuguese Jews forced to flee during the inquisition is likely to be raised during Silva’s visit.
The issue of designating both Hezbollah’s political and military wings as a terror organization, is also likely to be discussed.
Portugal has not designated Hezbollah as a terror organization, while the EU has done so only for its military wing.
On Monday, Silva is scheduled to speak with Netanyahu, Alternative Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and opposition leader MK Yair Lapid.
In Ramallah on Tuesday, Silva is slated to meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, Foreign Minister Riad Malki and Minister of Home Affairs Hussein Al-Sheik.