Palestinians seek multilateral mechanism to oversee peace process with Israel

Palestinians are counting on an active role by the European Union (EU) to create a multilateral sponsorship for Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

It is believed to be part of the Palestinians’ response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last year.

According to Palestinian Ambassador to the EU, Abdel Rahim al-Farra, Palestinians and Arabs hoped that Europe would help in establishing an international mechanism to oversee the stalled peace process.

They also yearned for a European recognition of a Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967, said Farra.

“Palestinian-European and European-Arab intensive meetings have recently been held ... They focused on recognizing the state of Palestine and creating a multilateral sponsorship for the peace process,” Farra revealed.

He explained that the Palestinian position is based on the fact that Washington can no longer take care of the peace process after its recognition in December of the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move overwhelmingly rejected by the EU members. “Our stance is also based on the need for a multiple international sponsorship, where the EU should be a key player,” he said.

The Palestinian diplomat highlighted the importance of the European role in view of the geographical link between Europe and the Mideast region, citing that the EU is the largest economic supporter of Palestine. “We have also discussed several proposals, including the expansion of the International Quartet for peace,” Farra pointed out.

A European-Arab meeting was held last week in Brussels after meetings of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Jan. 20 with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels.

Meanwhile, Information and Communication Officer Shadi Othman said the European position on the peace process is founded on the need to launch a credible process within a specific framework and clear terms of reference based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and within a clear timetable.

“The EU believes it cannot assume this role alone ... we would rather believe that there is a need for an international and regional partnership including the US, to achieve what everyone yearns for – a two-state solution according to international legitimacy resolutions and a clear timetable,” he told Xinhua. “The Palestinians are stepping up their moves with all their diplomatic might to create a new multilateral framework that breaks the US monopoly over peace negotiations which lasted for a quarter century,” Ramallah-based political analyst and writer, KhaLil Shahin, told Xinhua.

Shahin believes that the Palestinian move is meant to secure an international cover that can withstand the pressure that is expected to increase as Trump approaches his plan to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The Palestinian bets are based mainly on Russian, Chinese and European understandings, which are based primarily on supporting the Palestinian position with regard to adherence to the two-state solution and the resolutions of international legitimacy to achieve peace,” he pointed out.

However, Shahin stressed that international players still insist that the US administration remains the key actor in any political process, even if there is a multilateral framework such as expanding the Quartet.

The Palestinian observer said that more important than defining peace sponsors is the Palestinian need to adhere to the references based on international law and United Nations resolutions to face the de facto reference that Washington is trying to impose.