EU seeks to revive peace talks since no military answer seen in conflict

BRUSSELS — As distant as the prospect of peace might seem, European Union leaders believe it is time to start laying the foundations for a future relationship between Israel and the Palestinians where the militant group Hamas doesn’t control Gaza.

Mindful that resentment and even conflict in the wider Middle East and Gulf regions have been fueled by decades of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the 27-nation bloc has begun exploring ways to realize a long-held EU ideal — two states living peacefully side by side.

As the Palestinian death toll climbed and Israel carried out airstrikes Friday in response to the Hamas incursion into southern Israel, EU leaders meeting in Brussels for a second day encouraged broader diplomatic and security initiatives to stop the conflict from spreading, and ultimately from ever starting again. A peace conference and political settlement would be part of that.

“The history of this conflict didn’t begin with the attacks on Oct. 7 and won’t end with a land war in Gaza,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. “It’s very, very clear: 75 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, wars, terrorist attacks, huge instability. This won’t end because of a military solution. It can’t.”

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said “a pure security policy and a pure security solution is part of the reason (this conflict) has happened. So at some point a political dialogue needs to start.”

Apart from its aid and trade leverage, the EU bloc has no obvious security role to play in the conflict. It backs Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.

But as civilian casualties in Gaza mount, it also wants Israel to respect international law. Hamas is on the EU’s list of terror organizations and receives no funding from the bloc.