Global alliance a 'must' for implementation of independent Palestine state, says EU foreign policy chief

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – A global alliance is a must for realization of an independent Palestine state, according to the EU foreign policy chief.

“Almost the entire world calls for the two-state solution,” Josep Borrell told a ministerial event on the peace process and the two-state solution on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Adding that along with the UN General Assembly and Security Council, some 135 countries which recognize Palestine as an independent state as well as International Court of Justice all urge the creation of a Palestine state, he said: “Yet it is not happening. That harms Palestinians, Israelis, the region, international law, and our global future. “

“If the two-state solution is not the solution, then which is the solution? Which is the alternative solution?” he asked, speaking almost a year into an unprecedented Israeli offensive into Gaza, killing over 41,000 people.

The global alliance must be an umbrella under which all partners can place whatever they want to do in order to contribute, to incentivize, and to act towards implementation of a two-state solution, he said.

“It is up to Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate their own peace, but they will not do it alone. They need all of us to help them to get there,” Borrell said.

He also proposed holding a second meeting on the peace process and the two-state solution in the EU capital Brussels in November.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

More than 41,500 people, most of them women and children, have since been killed and more than 96,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.​​​​​​​