Israel returns to Union for the Mediterranean forum after two-year absence

The 10th regional forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) kicked off on Friday in Barcelona with a meeting of foreign ministers of the organization's member countries.

At this high-level meeting, the UfM seeks to define its new roadmap for the coming years with the aim of "strengthening regional cooperation" and renewing the agreement with Spain to maintain its headquarters in the Catalan capital.

It will also address "the alarming situation in the Middle East" at a time of impasse pending the implementation of the Gaza peace deal promoted by the United States.

After two years of absence due to its war in Palestine, Israel has returned to the fold, once again sending representation to the UfM forum, the only international organization where it shares a common position with Palestine.

However, Israel lowered the level of representation, as it was not the country's foreign minister, but the acting Israeli ambassador to Spain, Dana Erlich, who attended Friday's meeting. The minister of the State of Palestine, Varsen Aghabekian, did attend the forum.

The organization staked a claim for itself as a “useful instrument” for peace after sitting Israel and Palestine at the same table.

For the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, the milestone shows that “dialogue” is “the way to move forward” in resolving the conflict. 

Syria has also returned to the UfM after years of suspension of its participation due to the civil war under the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The return comes just a week before the first anniversary of the fall of the dictator, and the organization's partners hope will serve to stabilize the country.

The meeting will adopt the 'New Vision of the UfM', a document that updates its priorities and institutional structure. In addition, the new agreement between Spain and the UfM to maintain the headquarters of the organization in the Catalan capital will be signed.

Future of Gaza

In his inaugural speech, Albares called for “advancement in consensus to build a just and lasting peace” and “taking advantage” of the “indications of hope” that Trump’s plan for Gaza has opened.

“We are at a turning point where only a firm involvement of all can overcome the current uncertainty,” the Spanish minister warned, defending the presence of the Palestinian Authority in the peace process that must determine the future of Gaza.

Albares recalled the “people who suffer from the Arab-Israeli conflict”, both Israelis and Palestinians: “We must put people at the center, regardless of their nationality, religion or gender.”

Unlike the Spanish minister, the Jordanian foreign minister denounced Israel’s genocide in Gaza in the presence of the acting Israeli ambassador. Safadi denounced that “the promise” of the Barcelona Process has been “destroyed” by Israel’s “brutal, inhuman occupation” of the Palestinian territories.

Apart from recalling the thousands of Palestinian deaths and the grave humanitarian situation they find themselves in as winter approaches, Safadi also accused the Israeli government of displacing and attacking the population of the West Bank. “Yesterday the whole world saw how Israeli soldiers killed two unarmed Palestinians in cold blood”, recalled the Jordanian minister, warning of the “culture of killing” in Israel.

EU vows to prioritize region

In a statement to the press before the start of the meeting, the EU High Representative assured that the Mediterranean is among the priorities of the European Commission's foreign policy agenda, especially since the fall of the Assad regime and the Gaza war.

“There is a window of opportunity to re-establish the European Union's relationship with its southern neighborhood and build more solid foundations for the future,” she defended.