
Report: Foreign Ministers of Palestine and Israel to Participate in a Joint Meeting in Brussels
SadaNews Translation: The foreign ministers of Palestine and Israel will participate in a joint meeting as part of the EU and Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting on Monday, July 14, in Brussels, according to diplomats and officials speaking to Euronews.
The meeting aims to deepen the EU's cooperation with Israel, in addition to nine other southern partners, including Syria and Libya. This will be the first time that both sides are represented at a high level in Brussels since the October 7 attack and the Israeli war on Gaza.
The two sides meet regularly at the United Nations, but this meeting is considered a more intimate high-level forum, taking place in the week that EU member states are considering taking action against Israel due to its war in Gaza and the violence of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials have confirmed to Euronews that Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, and the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Faresin Agabekian Shahin, will participate in the meeting as SadaNews translated. The meeting is also expected to be attended by Syria's Foreign Minister in the new government, As'ad Hassan al-Shaybani.
A Palestinian official commented on the meeting, saying: "As Palestinians, we wish to express ourselves in this meeting and send a message to the Europeans regarding the humanitarian crisis faced by the Palestinians and demand that they take action against Israel. We will also explain the deteriorating financial situation of the Palestinian Authority, as Israel continues to withhold 8.2 billion shekels (2.1 billion euros) in tax revenues."
The official added: "We want to push for elections for the Palestinian people and find a political solution to our issue."
The meeting was originally scheduled for June, but the commission had to postpone it due to the situation in Gaza.
This comes at a time when relations between the EU and Israel are strained after Israel prevented food supplies from entering Gaza, and after Palestinian health officials and eyewitnesses claimed that Israeli soldiers recently fired upon Palestinians heading to humanitarian aid sites.
The foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states are also expected to consider a set of ten options on July 15, following a review of the EU-Israel partnership agreement, which revealed Israel's violation of Article Two of the agreement due to its actions in Gaza.
Proposals include, along with their legal basis and adoption procedures, the "complete" suspension of the EU-Israel partnership agreement, halting political dialogue with Israel, or preventing Tel Aviv from accessing EU programs, all of which require consensus among the 27 member states.
However, the Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting is also taking place following the announcement on Thursday of an EU-Israel agreement to improve "tangible" access to humanitarian aid for Gaza.
The EU's partnership with Southern Neighbourhood countries stems from the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, which committed to transforming the Mediterranean into a "region of dialogue, exchange, and cooperation that ensures peace, stability, and prosperity," according to an official document from the commission.
The meeting includes ministers and other representatives from all 27 EU countries, as well as eleven Arab countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Libya.

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