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EU Holds Line Against Palestinian Unilateralism

(Robin Shepherd) Robin Shepherd - Monday's joint statement on the Middle East peace process from the 27 EU foreign ministers rejects the ever-growing calls from the Palestinian side to support a unilateral declaration of independence on the 1967 lines and then seek recognition through the UN. Calls "for all parties to refrain from provocative unilateral actions" and affirmations of the EU's "readiness to contribute to a negotiated solution" clearly show that at this stage at least the EU is not yet ready to break with the U.S. on such a sensitive issue in international diplomacy. The Palestinians are going nowhere with a unilateral declaration without European support. So the fact that it is still being withheld shows that there is everything to fight for and that there is nothing inevitable about the Palestinians ultimately succeeding in their aims. That said, the EU statement was just the same old dreary white-washing of Palestinian rejectionism that we have become used to over decades, and they need to be called on it. To wit: The word "Hamas" does not appear once in the statement. The word "terrorism" does not appear once in the statement. While referring to the need for a "comprehensive" peace in the Middle East, the word "Iran" does not appear once in the statement. References to Palestinian Authority incitement are also entirely absent. The writer is Director of International Affairs at the Henry Jackson Society in London.
2010-12-15 10:50:45
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