The 12 points of the EU plan to try to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

The peace plan prepared by the head of community diplomacy, Josep Borrellto try to end the historical spiral of violence between Israelis and Palestinians beyond the current war in Loop It focuses on holding a peace conference “soon” and is structured in twelve precise steps.

This informal document, to which EFE had access, describes those practical steps to restart the peace process in Middle East. Borrell himself declared today that we must “start talking more specifically about a process for a two-state solution” because “the way of naming it is important.”

The objective of Borrell’s proposal is to address the conflict and occupation that preceded the war in Gaza, in order to prepare a comprehensive peace. These are the general lines of your roadmap:

A comprehensive peace process

1. Points out that it is vital and urgent that the European Union address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the war and the terrorist attacks. To do this, it must prepare for the future security of Israelis and Palestinians, the stabilization of the occupied territories and the early recovery and governance of Gaza. Such preparation for the post-war period necessarily includes an initiative to end long-standing conflicts in the area.

2. Warns that it is necessary to promote comprehensive peace as soon as possible because in the absence of a peace process to achieve the two-state solution, any governance and security mechanism established in Gaza or elsewhere will be perceived as an extension of the occupation and a denial of Palestinian rights and will therefore create further security risks for the region and Europe.

3. Ensures that there is no other credible comprehensive solution than that of an independent Palestinian State existing side by side with Israel, in peace and security, with full normalization and substantive development of security and economic cooperation between Israel, Palestine and the region, including the major Arab States.

4. It is unrealistic to assume, he adds, that Israelis and Palestinians – the latter represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – will, in the near future, participate in bilateral peace negotiations without strong international participation. The Palestinians will need a revitalized PLO to present a political alternative to Hamas, while the Israelis will need to find the political will to engage in meaningful negotiations toward a two-state solution, he says.

It is therefore the responsibility of external actors, such as the EU, to help prepare the ground for a comprehensive peace.

A preparatory peace conference

5. Recommends organizing a preparatory peace conference on the basis of the results of the ‘Peace Day Effort’ meeting, co-organized on the margins of the last General Assembly of the UNby Borrell on behalf of the EU and Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the League of Arab States and, if possible, together with the United States.

6. This conference should convene foreign ministers and heads of relevant international organizations willing and able to contribute to comprehensive regional peace and these, in turn, organize separate meetings almost simultaneously with each of the parties to the conflict, the ones that can’t be forced to sit together.

7. The conference coordinators should present an initial draft of a framework for a peace plan and invite all interested States and international organizations to contribute to its future development, as well as an agenda to complete it within one year.

Develop a peace plan

8. Says that the peace plan must combine and establish in the most practical way possible the central elements of a comprehensive peace between the parties to the conflict, respecting the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and building on previous international efforts.

9. Notes that an essential element of that peace plan should be the development of strong security guarantees for Israel and the future independent State of Palestine, conditional on full mutual diplomatic recognition and the integration of both Israel and Palestine in the region.

Commitment to parties in conflict and parallel efforts

10. Coordinators should consult as much as possible with the conflicting parties, but will advance the work regardless of whether one or other of the conflicting parties is not ready to participate.

11. Once completed, the plan must be proposed to the conflicting parties. And, at that moment, States and international organizations involved in the process must establish the consequences they foresee for both parties if a compromise is reached or not.

12. And maintains that the development of the peace plan has to be accompanied by parallel efforts, such as ending the current war, ensuring the recovery and reconstruction of Loop and affected communities in southern Israel or strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, among others.