On Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that it would cut all contact with EU institutions and representatives upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order to reassess participation in a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
"The EU continues and will continue to work on MEPP [the Middle East Peace Process], in the Quartet, with our Arab friends, and with both parties, as peace in the Middle East is an issue of interest to the whole international community and also to all Europeans," Maja Kocijancic said in the statement.
In the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine, Palestinians seek recognition of their independent state, proclaimed in 1988, on the territories of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine were seized by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity. Israel has continued to build settlements in occupied territories, prompting condemnation from the United Nations.
