BRUSSELS: The European Union yesterday pledged “unprecedented” levels of support to both Israel and the Palestinians should the two parties reach a final status agreement. Commending US Secretary of State John Kerry for his efforts in launching direct talks between the two, EU foreign ministers said the 28-nation bloc would “contribute substantially” to post-conflict arrangements to ensure the sustainability of a peace deal.
“The EU will provide an unprecedented package of European political, economic and security support to both parties in the context of a final status agreement,” the ministers said in a statement.
“In the event of a final peace agreement the European Union will offer Israel and the future state of Palestine a Special Privileged Partnership including increased access to the European markets, closer cultural and scientific links, facilitation of trade and investments as well as promotion of business to business relations. A senior EU official said it was too early to talk about numbers after Israeli daily Haaretz last week said the package would be worth “billions of euros” while also helping to end Israel’s international isolation.
Lebanese, Israeli officers meet to restore border calm
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Senior Israeli, Lebanese and United Nations military officers met yesterday to defuse tension a day after a “rogue” Lebanese soldier shot dead an Israeli soldier on the border.
Sunday’s incident jarred the relatively stable standoff between the two neighbours, which last saw major hostilities in the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. “We discussed concrete steps to strengthen the existing security arrangements (on the border) to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said in a statement.
Agencies
