Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Our Sunday meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Norway and Turkey were particularly interesting and useful in terms of moving matters forward a little, starting with a durable truce and ceasefire. Currently, there are two unilateral ceasefires, but a sustained period of quiet is necessary, which would facilitate the opening of the crossings.

Intra-Palestinian reconciliation is important if the reconstruction of Gaza is to be facilitated and humanitarian aid is to enter it. If a mechanism involving Palestinian consensus can be established to facilitate that reconstruction, the clear message from our Arab colleagues is for Europe not to close the door or to be absolutist this time and for it to adopt a flexible approach to what may emerge from the Egyptian negotiations.

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