Occupied Palestinian Territories 2/2017 Toward a Progressive EU Agenda for a Two-State Solution by Arne Lietz * Given that the U.S. government is not pre­pared to advance peace in the Middle East, it is crucial that the EU step into a leader­ship role in the effort. 1. Introduction Federica Mogherini’s first trip as the Euro ­pean Union’s High Representative for Fo­reign Affairs and Security Policy brought her to Israel and Palestine. Speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanya­hu on Nov. 7, 2014, she stressed that“it’s also in European interests to have stability and security and peace in this part of the region, and we are convinced that Euro­pean Union can have a major role in sup­porting a solution.” 1 I could not agree more. Since becoming a member of the European Parliament in June 2014, I have been actively engaging representatives from political parties, civil society and policy experts in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories(OPT) in order to identify and understand the main impediments to peace in the Middle East. Only a few months into my new position I took an active part in the negotiations over a European Parliament resolution on the recognition of Palestinian statehood. The text, while supporting“in principle” the re­cognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution also makes clear that such recognition“should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks.” 2 At the same time, the resolution urges Ha­mas and other Palestinian factions to re­cognize the right of existence of the State of Israel and to overcome intra-Palestinian division. Up to this day, all of those calls for ac­tion have gone unanswered. Hamas and the Fateh-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA) remain divided, and there seems to be no political will on the part of the Is­raeli government or the PA to begin direct negotiations. Quite notably, under the cur­rent right-wing government, we have seen an extension and intensification of settle ­ment activity. This deliberate policy has culminated in the recent adoption by the Knesset of a law allowing Israeli settlers to confiscate, under certain conditions, land in Area C of the West Bank owned by Pa­lestinians. Should the Constitutional Court of Israel rule that the law is constitutional, we might enter a new phase of“legal” an­nexation of Area C. In reaction to Israel’s sustained push to build and legalize settlements, the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 23, 2016 adopted Resolution 2334. The resolution, which could only be adopted thanks to the United States’ abstention in the vote, reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the OPT“had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and se­curity, within internationally recognized borders.” 3 A Changed International Context It is doubtful whether the new U.S. admi­nistration will be ready to condemn sett­lement activity in such a clear manner at the UN level. By appointing his son-in-law Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew and open supporter of Israeli settlements, to the position of special advisor for the Middle page 1