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ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 26 Nov 2023 3:00 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israel withdraws from Euro-Med meeting

Israel's absence from the Euro-Mediterranean meeting is expected to further test European diplomacy in the Middle East, as Arab and European Union countries meet amid a shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.


The Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting in Barcelona on Monday (27 November) – which brings together European Union foreign ministers as well as Middle Eastern and North African countries – aims to discuss the repercussions of the war in Gaza and its consequences for the region.


Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are members of the Mediterranean Community along with neighbors Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria (currently suspended).


Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, last week described the meeting as an “ideal place” to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue as both sides would sit as equals there.


Madrid is trying to play a leading role in shaping Europe's response to the ongoing war.


Sanchez has also been pushing for an international peace conference between Israelis and Palestinians and discussed the idea as recently as this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


But while the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia are expected to participate in the meeting, Israel will not send its representative.


The Israeli mission to the European Union said: “The European Union decided to move away from the original agenda and focus only on the current conflict without consulting Israel,” adding that the decision “will undermine” the purpose of the summit.


It added: “This risks turning it into another international forum, in which Arab countries target Israel, so Israel does not intend to participate in the meeting.”


In response to a question about the Israeli complaints, an EU official said that the lack of attendance was “unfortunate,” “but since they are a full member of the forum, it is their choice that they will not come.”


They added: “It was not possible to do nothing about Gaza because the situation is dire and needs to be addressed.”


Over the past weeks, Europeans have been largely divided into two camps, with Spain, France and Portugal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria-Hungary rejected such a move as contradictory to Israel's right to defend itself.


Arab countries are expected to present a more united front against Israel and call for a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.


EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, who co-chairs the forum and has just returned from a trip to the Middle East, is expected to discuss ideas for a draft EU roadmap that looks to the future after the fighting ends.


Its initial elements were widely discussed among EU foreign ministers earlier this month, but it remains uncertain how the bloc will secure participation from regional players.


Just two months ago, the European Union pushed through plans to help lead a new peace initiative focused on “incentives” in the Middle East, aimed at restarting talks between Israel and Palestine, which has received a positive response across the region.

But recent accusations of pro-Israel bias and “double standards” over the war in Gaza have raised concerns that such toughness could undermine diplomatic support for Ukraine in the Global South and the EU’s ability to insist on human rights provisions in international agreements.


“We should expect positions to remain very divergent, among us Europeans, but also with some radically anti-Israel countries in the region,” one EU diplomat said before the talks.


They added: “Then the crucial question is how much credibility we will actually leave behind.”


The meeting comes at a time when Tel Aviv has become locked in a diplomatic dispute with Spain and Belgium after it accused the two countries of supporting terrorism in response to criticism of their prime ministers for the bombing of civilians in Gaza.


The Israeli and Spanish foreign ministers exchanged harsh words and summoned each other's ambassadors for reprimands.


Speaking in Jerusalem alongside Netanyahu on Thursday (November 23), Sanchez said the number of civilians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza was “unbearable,” and Belgium’s prime minister also expressed similar sentiments in a speech at the Rafah border crossing.


Sanchez also said that Spain would be open to unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state even if the European Union did not do so.


The two European leaders' comments sparked a sharp response from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who criticized the two prime ministers' statements as "false statements" made in "support of terrorism."


Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez said in a statement that the accusations were “completely false and unacceptable.”


“We categorically reject it,” Albarez said, adding that the Spanish Prime Minister had publicly and repeatedly defended Israel’s right to self-defense.

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Israel withdraws from Euro-Med meeting

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