European Union Backs Palestinians in Brussels as Israel Fights New War in Middle East

The European Union displayed its support for Palestinians in Brussels as the United States and its Israeli ally were engaged in a new war in the Middle East, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying it was the only way for Palestinians and Israelis to live in security, in dignity and in peace.

“Earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”

DW

Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prévot said, "We find ourselves in the middle of the storm," at the opening of a meeting of the World Alliance for the Two-State Solution between Israel and Palestine.

DW

Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, also foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, said the meeting marked "a moment marked at once by an immense tragedy and by a narrow concrete opportunity to move from war to just and lasting peace" through a two-state solution.

Le Figaro reports that the EU is the principal economic and financial supporter of the Palestinian Authority and encourages it to reform as part of efforts to facilitate a solution for Gaza and for all Palestinians.

The article adds that EU foreign ministers were set to meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday, with Spain asking to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement because Israel "violates international law," as announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

In New York, Emmanuel Macron said at a conference organized with Saudi Arabia inside the UN General Assembly that "La Francia riconoscerà lo Stato palestinese," framing it as support for the two-state solution.

Saudi foreign minister Faysal ben Farhane called it "Una misura storica," while the article says ten Western countries formally recognized Palestine as a state on Monday, listing Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta, San Marino, and France.

Haaretz

The same report says the White House condemned the recognition through spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who said it "non fa nulla per liberare gli ostaggi, obiettivo principale in questo momento a Gaza" and also "non fa nulla per porre fine a questo conflitto e portare a termine questa guerra."

Le Figaro meanwhile describes EU moves that include a proposal for the EU to take sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank, but says those sanctions were blocked for months by a veto from Hungary.

It adds that Le Figaro expects the EU’s 27 to discuss the issue in Luxembourg on Tuesday, while noting that the article says no agreement is expected, and that the World Alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution was launched in September 2024 with Saudi Arabia’s initiative and France’s support but without U.S. participation.

DW reports that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that Merz’s spokesperson Stefan Kornelius later conveyed the exchange with the last two sentences stating, "There must be no de facto annexation of the West Bank."

“Guerre au Moyen-Orient : Bruxelles affiche son soutien aux Palestiniens La solution à deux États est la seule «façon pour les Palestiniens comme pour les Israéliens de vivre en sécurité, dans la dignité et dans la paix», a indiqué de son côté la cheffe de la diplomatie de l’UE, Kaja Kallas Passer la publicité Passer la publicitéL'Union européenne a affiché lundi à Bruxelles son soutien aux Palestiniens, au moment où les États-Unis et leur allié israélien sont engagés depuis des semaines dans une nouvelle guerre au Moyen-Orient”

Le Figaro

DW says Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich escalated verbally, telling Merz, "You will not force us to live again in ghettos, and certainly not in our own country," in reference to a posting on X by the German prime minister.

The article places Smotrich’s statement on April 14, 2026, noting it was Yom HaShoah in Israel and that Holocaust survivors are at the heart of commemorations, while also saying Netanyahu had not yet commented on the attack targeting another head of government.

DW adds that only Israeli ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor weighed in on Kan, saying Merz was a "great friend of Israel" and that it was possible and legitimate to argue with Germans, especially on a day filled with emotion.

Haaretz, in a separate item, frames ongoing Germany-Israel diplomacy around a meeting between German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar and mentions an agreement in which Germany committed to boost its funding to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem.