Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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71. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the most recent developments in Palestine regarding the possible withdrawal of recognising the state of Israel that was made at an international conference in Madrid in 1991 will be discussed with his other EU counterparts at the next EU Council meeting. [3063/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Israel was admitted as a Member State of the UN in 1949, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) recognized Israel as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which also set out a path towards a two-state solution. There has understandably been a strong reaction among Palestinians and across the region to the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The EU and its Member States have reaffirmed our belief in a two state solution to the conflict, including the future of Jerusalem as a capital for two states, both Israel and Palestine, and I have made clear that I believe the US announcement was premature and unhelpful.

At the meeting of the PLO Central Council on 14-15 January there was evidently deep frustration not just at the recent US announcement, but also at the lack of progress over the last two decades in building on the Oslo Accords, and making a reality of the two state solution. Some of the statements made at the Central Council included inflammatory rhetoric. The Central Council also produced a set of resolutions, including a decision to assign the Executive Committee of the PLO to suspend recognition of Israel, pending reciprocal recognition of a State of Palestine.

However, this decision has not yet been implemented. It will be for the Chairman of the PLO and President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to decide whether to act on this recommendation, and so far, he has not done so. I believe that the international community should focus on actions, not rhetoric. I note that President Abbas has reaffirmed his opposition to terrorism in all forms, in the course of the Council.

I very strongly urge President Abbas to maintain Palestinian recognition of Israel, something which the mainstream Palestinian movement represented in the PLO and the Palestinian Authority has accepted since 1993.

During my visit to the Middle East earlier this month, when I met I Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Foreign Minister Malki, I discussed with them the challenges facing the Palestinian people, but also urged them to keep an open mind on any US initiative to reinvigorate the Middle East Peace Process.

My EU colleagues and I met again with President Abbas at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, and the EU conviction that it would be a major step back to withdraw recognition of Israel was clear. We also reiterated our strong support for the two state solution and for Palestinian aspirations for statehood, as an outcome of an agreement between the Parties.