BRUSSELS (EJP)---EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday with the hope to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table and to press for a two-state solution.
The two sides began exploratory talks this month under the auspices of Jordan to see if they can resume negotiations.
Israeli and Palestinian officials are expected to meet for a fifth time in Amman on Wednesday.
"I look forward to talking to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. I will continue to make every effort to push the peace talks and encourage the parties in the path towards a negotiated solution," Catherine Ashton said.
"The fact that negotiators are talking to each other face-to-face is encouraging, and I'd like to express my thanks to the King of Jordan for his initiative, closely linked to the efforts by the Quartet. I'll be looking for positive signs from both sides that they are prepared to turn this progress into real gestures and negotiations. Time is of the essence. Developments in the region make peace in the Middle East even more urgent and necessary."
"I will be there to try and support that in every way that I can," said Ashton who will meet Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defence Minister Ehud Barak as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Her three-day visit will also include a stop in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials said Jerusalem had "no problem" with Ashton visiting Gaza as long as she did not meet with Hamas officials.
Hamas is on the EU list of terror organizations and the EU's position is that it will not engage with the Gaza rulers ntil that organization rejects terrorism, recognizes Israel and accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
EJP has learned that Ashton will in fact visit the Gaza Training Center, where she will sign the Financing Agreement with UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and meet representatives of civil society.
On Monday, at their monthly meeting in Brussels, the 27 EU Foreign Ministers voiced concern over Israeli settlements and called for the preservation of a viable two-state solution.
"Against the backdrop of worrying developments on the ground in 2011, particularly with regard to settlements, the EU reaffirms its commitment to a two state solution: The legitimacy of the State of Israel and the right of Palestinians to achieve statehood must never be called into question," they said in Monday meeting’s conclusions.
"he viability of the two state solution must be preserved," they stressed.
"The EU will continue to reinforce efforts towards resolving the conflict through its contribution to the Quartet, its continued partnership with Israel, and its support for the Palestinian Authority's state-building efforts."
The EU called on both parties "to come forward with comprehensive proposals on borders and security, as envisaged in the Quartet statement on 23 September."
"The EU calls on the parties to demonstrate their commitment to a peaceful solution and to the Quartet process by actions that can build confidence and create an environment of trust necessary to ensure meaningful negotiations, leading to a comprehensive and lasting peace," the conclusions said.
On the same day, the EU appointed Andreas Reinicke, Germany's ambassador to Syria, as its new special Middle East envoy. He will take over on February 1 from Belgium's Marc Otte.
Ashton’s Mideast trip comes a day after EU Foreign Ministers decided to broaden their sanctions against Iran by imposing a ban on imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products in the European Union, targeting the sources of finance for Iran’s nuclear program.