Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 02/2015

The Multilateralisation of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Call for an EU Initiative

Daniela Huber, Lorenzo Kamel

January 2015

Istituto Affari Internazionali

Abstract

The "battleground" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is shifting from its local context, where it has been placed in the Oslo, Intifada and Roadmap/Quartet periods, to its original dimension: the international arena. While it is indeed unclear if a multilateral approach will fare well, it is a fact that the unilateral/bilateral approach has failed. Having reached the end of the Middle East Peace Process as we have known it for the past decades, it is about time to be open-minded about realistic alternatives. This paper analyses these potential scenarios, the roles played by the main local and international actors, and outlines how a EU multilateral initiative should look like.