New EU foreign affairs chief amplifies call for Palestinian statehood during Gaza visit
“We need a Palestinian state -- that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union,” she said, adding that another war in Gaza cannot be afforded.
In remarks made ahead of her meeting Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Mogherini urged the reduction of tensions.
“It would be good if we all managed to lower tensions, verbal and
on the ground. What is happening and what has happened here in
Jerusalem in the last week is extremely worrying,” she
said Friday.
Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister who took up her post
as the EU's foreign and
security policy chief with the appointment of a new European
Commission on Nov. 1, has previously made similar calls.
On Tuesday, she said: “I would be happy if by the end of my
term, a Palestinian state existed.”
READ MORE: New EU foreign chief calls for
creation of Palestinian state in 5 years
Last month, MPs in the British House of Commons voted by a large
majority (274 to 12) to recommend that the UK recognizes
Palestine as a state alongside Israel. Tel Aviv condemned the
British MPs' vote, which does not have the force of law, but is
of a consultative character.
Last week, Sweden officially recognized the occupied state of
Palestine, becoming the first Western European state to do so.
READ MORE: Palestine wants UN vote on 2016
deadline for Israeli troop pullout
Mogherini said Sweden's recognition of Palestine did not
represent a template for other EU members, as a new Palestinian
state should be established, rather than recognized as it is at
the moment.
The occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have
been seeking full statehoodf and independence from Israel for
decades now, with thousands of people having perished in one of
the most prolonged and bitter confrontations in modern history.
The Palestinians have lobbied for full recognition as a sovereign
state from the UN and the international community. Palestine has
already been granted non-member, observer-state status in the UN
and it continues to push for recognition while Israel continues
to proceed with plans to build thousands of new settler homes in
East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
READ MORE: Israel approves plan to build 1,000
settler homes in E. Jerusalem
However, Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as a future capital
of their state and strongly oppose any Israeli expansion.
