The heads of Palestinian and Israeli diplomacy are expected this Monday in Brussels

The foreign ministers of Palestine and Israel are being received this Sunday in Brussels by their European counterparts, on a day when the 27 countries are expected to adopt sanctions against the Islamist movement Hamas and discuss their mission in the Red Sea.

At the meeting at the Foreign Affairs Council, the heads of European diplomacy will also receive Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, with whom “they will take stock of the results of Russia’s war against Ukraine, discuss security and military obligations with the country,” according to a statement from the Portuguese government. , which will be represented by Minister João Gomes Craviño.

The council’s agenda will also include sanctions against the Islamist Hamas movement, which holds power in the Gaza Strip, and a mission in the Red Sea, where security for commercial shipping has deteriorated due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

On the day of the meeting of the heads of European diplomacy, the head of Israeli diplomacy, Israel Katz, is expected in Brussels this morning, and in the afternoon it will be the turn of his Palestinian counterpart Riyadh al-Maliki.

According to European sources, there are no plans for a meeting between them, and the focus of these meetings will be the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the hostage issue.

Also scheduled for lunch today in Brussels are meetings with representatives of other governments in the region, such as responsible ministers of Egypt Sameh Shoukry, Saudi Faisal bin Farhan and Jordan’s Ayman Safadi, as well as with the Secretary General. member of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Today, a package of sanctions is expected to be adopted against the Islamist group Hamas, considered terrorist by the EU.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas intensified following the Islamist movement’s attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2024.

According to Israel’s latest official tally, 1,140 people were killed that day, most of them civilians, but also about 400 soldiers. Some 240 civilians and military personnel were abducted, with Israel indicating that 127 remain in the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed some 25,000 people and injured more than 60,000, according to authorities in the Palestinian enclave.

The European Union, like the United States, has repeatedly spoken out in favor of a two-state solution to stabilize the region and restore peace.

Even today, public diplomacy hopes to win support from 27 member states to take steps toward a Red Sea mission that could help counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on international trade at a time of tension.

For this mission to move forward, community sources say, measures will need to be taken regarding the mission’s mandate and military plan, the need for the EU Military Committee to participate, and delaying the launch until February.

The idea would be a joint operation between Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Portugal with EU command and funds that has existed since 2020 in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. European in volume, to protect international transport.

This debate comes in the context of tensions in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi militants are attacking merchant ships in retaliation for Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.