"Dear Colleagues,
I would like to thank our Qatari host for warmly welcoming us here in Doha.
Let me also extend my condolences to our colleague from Saudi Arabia for the victims of the terrorist act against worshipper in a mosque last Friday.
Following my visit yesterday to the museum of Islamic Art here in Doha, I can only recommend it to all. It helps in better understanding the Arab world and culture. Politics is important, culture is essential.
In line with the statement made by our colleague from Kuwait, I would also like to strongly condemn the acts of vandalism committed by Daech. These are crimes against history. To counter the actors of such destruction, we should up-hold the richness of Arab culture and history.
Last summer, in Gaza, the third outbreak of violence in five years, and the most deadly one, has painfully reminded us that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hasn’t lost its strategic centrality. Nine months after the end of the last war, nothing is settled in Gaza, there has been no progress towards a permanent cease-fire agreement and reconstruction efforts are far too slow.
Today, the situation on the ground in Gaza is closer to a pre-conflict than a post-conflict situation.
The so-called peace process, which does not really deserve this name anymore, is deadlocked. There will be no lasting peace until the Palestinian aspirations for a state and sovereignty and those of Israelis for security have not been met within the framework of a comprehensive peace agreement, based on the coexistence of two States which continues, I believe, to be our common goal.
New announcements of expansions of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank continue to pour oil on the fire. Regrettably, the new Israeli government has chosen to pursue settlement policy.
Settlements pose a main obstacle to peace and are the major reason why the negotiations are suspended.
Today, the historical cycle that started with the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, comes to an end. We must therefore invent something else to save the two-state solution.
Although Israelis and Palestinians are the ones who have to negotiate, the international community cannot just stand by and wait for the next disaster to happen.
What has to change?
First, peace must be based on the European parameters and the Arab peace initiative which should be seen as an additional incentive for serious Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Secondly, we need to put international law and the Security Council at the center of resolving the issue. A UN Security council resolution has to fix the parameters and the timetable for negotiations. The Security Council now seems to be more favorable to such an initiative.
Third, we must promote a new format for negotiations where EU and Arab states would be more closely involved. Concerning the EU, we expect that the recent visit of Federica Mogherini in Israel could be helpful in this regards.
Fourthly, we need to support and accompany the process of inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
And finally, we must avoid a return to the old status quo in Gaza. The pace of the reconstruction of Gaza must be accelerated and the blockade of Gaza must be lifted to enable a fundamental improvement in the living conditions of the population.
If you allow me a personal reflection: When in 2004, I was nominated Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, there was a lot of hope in the international community in what we call the Middle East Peace Process. On one side, the election of Abbas in 2005 and Annapolis in 2007 were seen as promising signs of conflict resolution.
On the other side, the three Gaza wars in 2008-2009, 2012, and finally in 2014 were devastating.
In foreign policy, hope is not a political criteria anywhere, but indifference cannot be an alternative."