European Parliament Roberta Metsola met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa hours after the announcement of a deal sealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of hostages.

During a meeting at the European Parliament, the two focused on the future of Gaza, with both sides expressing their hope that the deal will hold up and that rebuilding Gaza could start. 

“Our immediate priority must be on ensuring that the agreement holds and that its aims are met: stopping the conflict, getting aid in, getting hostages back to their families. That must become the stepping stone to lasting stability, peace, rebuilding, and getting services back up and running. The day after must bring new hope,” she said.  

Metsola reiterated the EU's firm commitment to a comprehensive and lasting peace, based on the two-state solution as well as the EU’s readiness to help address the most pressing needs of the Palestinian population, in particular with regards to humanitarian aid.

Other topics discussed related to the Palestinian reform agenda, EU financial support to the Palestinian people, and increased cooperation with the European Parliament. 

The meeting comes a week after Metsola met with the Egyptian president Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Egyptian authorities in Cairo where she assured them that Europe is ready to contribute to promoting dialogue and peace in the Middle East. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.