Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the two-state solution is not viable at the moment.
On the other hand, EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed the importance of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In his speech on Monday during an official meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council in the Belgian capital, Brussels, Lapid affirmed that despite his support for the two-state solution (a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one), this solution is not currently applicable.
"If there is a Palestinian state, it should be democratic and peace-loving, and we should not be asked to build with our own hands another threat to our lives," he said.
Lapid stressed that Israel seeks to expand the "circle of peace" with other countries, adding that this circle will eventually include the Palestinians.
The peace process between the two sides has been frozen since April 2014 due to Israel's refusal to stop settlements in the occupied territories, and to accept the 1967 borders as a basis for negotiating the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Lapid said, referring to the process of normalization between Israel and Arab countries, "10 days ago our embassy was opened in Abu Dhabi. We started a new kind of peace with the Arab world."
He added, "I hope that in a few weeks we will open the embassy in Morocco, and then in Bahrain and Sudan."
And last September, the UAE and Bahrain signed two agreements to normalize relations with Israel in a celebration at the White House with the participation of then US President Donald Trump, and they were joined in late 2020 by Sudan and Morocco.
European position
On the other hand, European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said that "Israel's security can only be achieved through the two-state solution."
Borrell added - in a press conference after a meeting with the foreign ministers of the European Union and a dinner with their Israeli counterpart on Monday - that the union is ready for a new start with Israel, but he expects its new government to provide guarantees for its desire to find a solution with the Palestinians.
"We are waiting for Israel to present a political vision to find a solution with the Palestinians, and the European Union is ready to help them and revive the peace process, but we realize that this will not happen tomorrow," he said.
Borrell indicated that reaching a solution with the Palestinians would contribute positively to Israel's security.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described Lapid's visit as a "good sign", and said that the European bloc seeks to resume the meetings of the Association Council between the European Union and Israel aimed at improving relations between the two sides.
The European Union seeks to strengthen cooperation with Israel after a coalition that included parties from all currents led by Lapid managed to take over the prime ministership and ousted Benjamin Netanyahu.
Relations were tense between the EU and Netanyahu, who sought to marginalize the role of the European bloc in the region.