Ministers agree prospects of peace in Palestine are bleak

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on prospects of peace

Foreign affairs minister George Vella and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Malki agreed that the peace prospects in the Middle-East are bleak and urged the EU and the international community to resurrect the peace process.

In reference to the protraction of Israeli aggression and the construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian territories, al-Malki said “I am sorry at the latest developments and the prospect of the two-state solution has been narrowed if not eliminated altogether.”

He explained that the new Israeli government has already announced its intention to construct 900 units in East Jerusalem before even being sworn in.

al-Malki thanked Malta and other European countries for their support and urged the EU and the rest of the world to oppose the “intimidation and assault on the peace process” by Netanyahu’s government.

Yesterday, Netanyahu struck a deal to form a fragile 1-seat majority coalition with far-right party Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home).

Asked whether the time was ripe for a unity Palestinian government, al-Malki said this would require huge compromises by all parties, especially Fatah and Hamas, and it would be better to have a national consensus government which empowers all Palestinians, reconstructs Gaza and guarantees new elections.

Vella and al-Malki today signed a memorandum of understanding on SMEs and launched the joint inter-governmental committee.

Reassuring al-Malki of Malta’s “full support” for the Palestinian cause “whoever is in government,” Vella admitted that he felt “much closer” to the Palestinian foreign minister than any other minister he meets and the two ministers were meeting as friends.

Vella, who last year was one of the first foreign politicians to visit Gaza following the Israeli aggression which led to the death of over 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, said that Palestine’s future is “not looking bright,” especially as the Middle East peace process has been put on the back burner following the developments in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

“In these times of difficulty we feel the time is ripe for further cooperation between friends,” Vella said, adding that that the two nations will be exchanging expertise and experience in a number of fields, ranging from education, SME’s, economy, heritage and institution building.

“We’re doing this because we want to stand by the Palestinian people and because we are in a position to share our experiences within our limitations.”

He also announced that the Malta will be offering Palestinian students two additional scholarships to the two it has been offering for the last 20 years. The two parties are also exploring the possibility of extending these schemes to the tourism industry.

On his part, al-Malki thanked Vella and the Maltese people for its constant support to Palestine and said that the agreements will not be of a unilateral nature, but “Palestine will also offer its knowledge, expertise and connections in the Arab world.

He added that the creation of the joint inter-governmental committee will help develop Palestinian institutions and their capacity to build a functioning state.