On 23 February the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell co-hosted a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), chaired by Norway and held by videoconference.

Alongside Israel and Palestine, twenty-seven donor countries and international organisations participated with a common determination to stabilise and strengthen the Palestinian economy and institutions and improve the situation in Gaza. The meeting also addressed the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating situation on the ground.

In his intervention, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell noted that the AHLC this year took place in a more favourable political context with normalisation agreements between Israel and some Arab states, resumed cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, a new US administration in place in Washington, and national elections scheduled in Palestine. He encouraged the two parties to build on this momentum to take political and technical steps to rebuild trust, and to refrain from unilateral actions that increase tensions and undermine the two-state solution.

High Representative/Vice-President Borrell recalled that the EU, as Palestine’s most important and reliable partner and donor, will continue to firmly support a political process towards a democratic, viable and contiguous Palestinian State, living side by side with Israel in peace and security and with Jerusalem as capital of both states, in line with international law.

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Press Release

Video message by the High Representative after the meeting 

Chair’s Summary

The Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA)