The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, urged this Thursday to make the leap from promises to concrete actions to materialize the two-State solution, emphasizing the gap between the broad international support for this formula and a reality on the ground marked by "too limited" progress in Gaza and by the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
"Our task today is not to reaffirm our support for the goal of this group, but to close the gap between commitments, actions, and the reality on the ground, and to move from preserving to making it a reality," she noted during the meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, convened in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The head of European diplomacy insisted that it is essential to translate into practice the support of the international community for the creation of a Palestinian state that coexists alongside Israel. She recalled that a year ago 142 countries supported the New York Declaration for the implementation of the two-State solution, a position that she contrasted with "the harsh reality" that persists both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank.
"In Gaza, progress on the ground remains too limited. Attacks continue, humanitarian needs remain severe, and too many commitments have yet to translate into tangible improvements for Palestinians in Gaza," Kallas warned, lamenting that the humanitarian situation has barely improved despite multiple diplomatic initiatives.
In parallel, she focused on the West Bank, where "incessant" violence persists and a constant expansion of settlements is taking place, which, she warned, is "undermining the viability of the two-State solution." "The ambition of our global alliance and, indeed, of the New York Declaration is increasingly in contradiction with the harsh reality," she summarized, referring to the growing distance between political objectives and facts on the ground.
In this scenario, the High Representative has emphasized that the New York Declaration and resolution 2803 of the United Nations Security Council represent "the best roadmap" to end the suffering in Gaza and keep open a "credible" path towards the two-State solution. In her opinion, both texts provide a framework for action and a series of concrete steps to advance in the stabilization and early recovery of the territory.
Support for Palestinian legislative elections
In this context, Kallas has expressed her support for the holding of Palestinian legislative elections, which the Palestinian Authority is preparing despite the "difficult context" on the ground, stressing that these elections have the full support of the European bloc.
"They must be held," emphasized the EU's foreign affairs chief, who has highlighted the progress of the Palestinian Authority in terms of reforms in areas where they are "extremely necessary." However, she warned that these transformations must continue, among other reasons because they constitute a key condition within the peace plan for Gaza.
In her speech, Kallas stressed that "our collective responsibility is to demonstrate in practice that two States living side by side in peace and security remain the best way to build a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Palestine and Israel and for the entire region," calling for a shift from formal statements to effective measures on the ground.