Having already been to the region three times since 7 October, I chose to start 2024 with a new mission to the Middle East. The ongoing tragedy in Gaza and the risks of this conflict spreading are indeed the most urgent geopolitical issue we have to deal with.

The EU needs to become more united and proactive in helping to solve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in close coordination with our regional partners.

With 23,000 Palestinians dead according to the Palestinian health authorities, the vast majority of them women and children, and an increasingly catastrophic humanitarian situation for the more than two million inhabitants of the enclave - almost all of whom are now displaced - it is urgent to put an end to the fighting and release all hostages. All the more so as heightened tensions on the Lebanese border as well as the attacks carried out in the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthi rebels are exacerbating risks of the conflict spreading. The EU needs to become more united and proactive in helping to solve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. And to do so in close coordination with our regional partners.

The deep political, economic and social crisis in Lebanon

My first stop was Lebanon, where I met Prime Minister Mikati, Speaker of Parliament Berri, Foreign Minister Bou Habib, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Aoun and Member of Parliament Raad, head of the Hezbollah parliamentary group. I also met Lieutenant General Lazaro, who commands UNIFIL, the UN force responsible for monitoring the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Even before 7 October, Lebanon was going through a deep political, economic and social crisis. The country continues also to host more than 2 million Syrian refugees. Given Lebanon’s total population of 5.6 million, it is indeed a heavy burden, despite the significant assistance provided to refugees and their host communities by the EU and other partners.  

Unfortunately, since my last visit to Lebanon in 2021, the political crisis remains unsolved - the country is still without president and has only a caretaking government - and the economic and social crisis has continued to deepen as a result of political uncertainty and the absence of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

However, the Lebanese Parliament recently prolonged the mandate of General Aoun as head of the Lebanese army, the main institution effectively promoting unity and stability of the country. It brings some hope in the current dramatic national and regional context. I encouraged my interlocutors to continue along this path, particularly with regard to the election of a president. 

The risk of Lebanon being drawn into a conflict with Israel

I conveyed to all my interlocutors our deep concern at the risk of seeing Lebanon drawn into a conflict with Israel, and our desire to help prevent such a disastrous development. All of them, including the representative of Hezbollah, told me they were equally eager to avoid being pulled into such a downward spiral.

The main area of tension concerns the violations by both parties of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The demarcation of the Lebanese-Israeli border and the presence of Hezbollah forces along it are critical points that require intense diplomatic efforts. In my discussion with Lieutenant General Lazaro, we explored ways of strengthening the role of UNIFIL – to which a large number of EU Member States already contribute troops. The EU is also ready to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in order to increase their capacity to control this border.

Following the agreement reached in 2022 between Israel and Lebanon on the delimitation of their maritime border, all my Lebanese counterparts agreed to the principle of such negotiations with Israel on the delimitation of the land border and the associated security guarantees. However, all of them stressed also that stopping the hostilities in Gaza would be a prerequisite to this aim.

The dramatic situation in Gaza

I then had a videoconference with Commissioner General Lazzarini, who heads UNRWA, the UN agency in charge since 1949 of providing aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Our conversation focused on the situation in Gaza. 1.9 million people, who make up 85% of the population, are now forcibly displaced as a result of the continuous fighting and the massive destruction in the enclave by the Israeli army. Of these, 1.4 million are being cared for by UNRWA.

Gaza people are in desperate need of food, water, medicine and healthcare. Beyond bombs and bullets, famine and epidemics are beginning to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Three UNRWA staff members posted in Gaza also took part in our discussion, providing a first-hand account of the dramatic situation they are witnessing with thousands of refugees left without any shelter in the middle of winter, their only protection being a few plastic sheets, and with the risk of becoming collateral victims of bombing by the Israeli army. These people are in desperate need of food, water, medicine and healthcare, but humanitarian aid is still arriving in a piecemeal fashion amid the ongoing fighting. Beyond bombs and bullets, famine and epidemics are beginning to threaten the lives of hundred of thousands of Palestinians.

The EU is fully supporting UNRWA

I conveyed to Commissioner Lazzarini our full support for the work carried out by UNRWA under these appalling circumstances, expressing our condolences  for the loss of nearly 150 staff members in Gaza since 7 October. I also expressed my determination to defend the agency against the unfair accusations to which it is sometimes subjected. Last February, the European Commission advanced the disbursement of aid allocated to UNRWA for 2023, and by the end of the year we finally supplemented this with an additional €10 million to help with the acute crisis in Gaza. I am hopeful that we will be able to similarly advance the disbursement of aid for 2024.

The absolutely tragic situation experienced by the civilian population in Gaza is unfortunately not always sufficiently known in Europe, not least because Western journalists do not have access to the enclave and many Palestinian journalists have lost their lives since 7 October. Despite recent efforts to increase the flow of aid, it remains woefully inadequate. This failure shows, if any proof were needed, that only a lasting suspension of the fighting can truly improve the situation of the civilian population.

The EU, and the international community, firmly oppose any forced displacement of the Gaza population outside of the enclave. However, the vast majority of the people have already been forcibly displaced from their destroyed houses and are now surviving in the middle of the rubble. If we don’t want them to starve or die under the bombs, it is necessary to halt the fight in order to be able to distribute the massive humanitarian aid urgently needed and organise the release of the hostages. Otherwise the population of the enclave will not have any other solution than to try to escape the trap that Gaza has become. And it is probably what some members of the Israeli government are aiming for, when they talk about getting rid of the Palestinians of Gaza.

Saudi Arabia, a partner of the EU to revive the Middle East Peace Process

I subsequently travelled to Saudi Arabia, where I met Prince Faisal, the Kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Even before 7 October, Saudi Arabia has been one of our main partners - alongside Jordan, Egypt and the Arab League - in trying to revive the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the two-state solution. This partnership culminated in an important meeting last September in New York, held on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly. Beyond the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Saudi Arabia is also a major partner for the EU in many other areas, especially on climate and energy.

With my Saudi interlocutors, we discussed the situation in Gaza. Our analyses converged on several critical points: the need for a rapid end to the fighting and the release of hostages, the need to avoid a forced displacement of Palestinians outside of the enclave and the need for a rapid withdrawal of Israeli forces at the end of the military operation.

The attacks of the Houthi rebels on merchant ships

We also discussed the risks of the conflict spreading to the wider region. This included the precarious situation in the Red Sea as a result of attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships. The Red Sea is indeed a major global supply route, accounting for around 10% of global maritime traffic and 20% of global consumer goods and container shipping traffic. And these figures are even higher when considering trade destined specifically for Europe. A prolonged blockade would lead to significant price hikes on imported products as a result of the additional costs generated by the need to reroute ships around the whole of Africa.

Saudi Arabia is in advanced talks for a peace deal in Yemen and wants to avoid the conflict in Gaza jeopardising this prospect. For our part, we are discussing options to help restore freedom of navigation, including the creation of a new European maritime operation alongside mission Atalanta, which is already operating off the coast of Somalia. Immediately after coming back to Brussels I presented this proposal to EU member states

We also discussed Saudi Arabia’s relations with Iran following the normalisation of diplomatic relations in March 2023, as well as our parallel efforts with the Iranian authorities to prevent them from contributing to a regional escalation of the conflict. I also met with US Secretary of State Blinken, who was in the country at the same time to compare notes on our meetings in the region. We exchanged views following our respective efforts to de-escalate, end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and strengthen the role of the United Nations. 

The urgency of EU’s involvement in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Returning from this mission, my conviction has only deepened on the urgency for the EU to intensify its involvement in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, I am also more convinced than ever of the feasibility of doing so in close cooperation with our regional partners.

Since 7 October, there have been divergent views within the EU on how to react to the conflict in Gaza. This lack of consensus has weakened the EU in the region and prevented us from having influence on events, despite the fact that we are very directly impacted by this conflict and its consequences.

The time has come for us to unite and shoulder our responsibility to push for an end to the hostilities in Gaza and work with our partners to actively pursue the implementation of the two-state solution

Now, the time has come for us to unite and shoulder our responsibility to push for an end to the hostilities in Gaza and work with our regional and international partners to actively pursue the implementation of the two-state solution, advocated by the international community and all EU member states. A sustainable peace will not return to Israel, Palestine and the region if we do not make rapid progress on this path.

However, the initiative to revive the Middle East Peace Process we launched together with our regional partners only weeks before 7 October obviously needed to be thoroughly recalibrated in the light of today's context. To help define our common way forward, I have invited the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League, to take part in the next Foreign Affairs Council on 22 January. I have also sent an invitation to the Foreign Ministers of Israel and Palestine. I hope that it will lead to a fruitful exchange between the Europeans and the main regional actors and contribute to strengthening the peace efforts.