French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that Europe had to play a bigger role to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and could no longer just play the role of a "bank window" for reconstruction after each war.The European Union is the biggest aid donor to the Palestinian Authority and Israel's biggest economic partner, accounting for almost a third of its exports and imports. However, it is deemed as having little influence in efforts to reach a negotiated solution between both sides."For a solution to finally be reached, the United States' role will be decisive," Hollande said in an annual speech to French diplomats outlining foreign policy objectives.
console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }"But Europe's role is as important. It must act more. Europe does a lot to rebuild and develop Palestine, but it can't simply just be a bank window where we turn to heal the wounds after a recurring conflict."Paris has already said that if peace negotiations ultimately fail then the international community would have to take the lead to find a solution."We have to go towards a progressive lifting of the blockade and the demilitarization of the territory," he said, referring to a British-French-German proposal for creating a Gaza monitoring mission.Hollande said once the cease-fire was consolidated the path to peace would have to be taken as quickly as possible. "Everyone knows the conditions: a democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side with an Israeli state living in security."