EU and Israel to discuss Gaza’s future and regional politics

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will meet senior European officials in Brussels on Monday, reviving a dialogue with the European Union as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s ceasefire deal.

Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022, with talks set to focus on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations and changing regional dynamics.

“Monday’s Association Council is an important opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen the partnership between Israel and the EU,” Israel’s ambassador to the EU, Haim Regev, told Reuters.

In February 2024, the leaders of Spain and Ireland sent a letter to the European Commission asking for a review of whether Israel was complying with its human rights obligations under the 2000 EU-Israel Association Agreement, which provides the basis for political and economic cooperation between the two sides.

But ahead of Monday’s meeting, the bloc’s 27 member countries negotiated a compromise position that praises areas of cooperation with Israel while also raising concerns.

At the meeting, the EU will emphasize both Europe’s commitment to Israel’s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza”, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump upset Arab nations and Western allies by proposing the United States “take over” Gaza, permanently displacing its Palestinian inhabitants and creating the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

It comes as the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Cairo will host the emergency Arab summit on the developments of the Palestinian issue on 4 March.

The summit is a response to US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan for the US to “take over” Gaza and ethnically cleanse Palestinians into Egypt and Jordan, something that Palestinians, Egypt, Jordan and all other Arab states oppose. 

Israel, on the other hand, has enthusiastically supported the plan, including by setting up a ministry for the “voluntary” emigration of Palestinians from Gaza.