Federica Mogherini
Federica MogheriniReuters

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called Wednesday on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume peace negotiations, saying the situation on the ground was "not sustainable," according to AFP

Mogherini issued the remarks after eyewitnesses said the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out four strikes on terror targets in Gaza on
Wednesday, hours after terrorists launched five rockets at civilians in the Jewish state. 

"We see the situation on the ground as not sustainable and (it is) an illusion to think the status quo is an option," Mogherini said at the opening of an annual meeting in Brussels of the donor coordination group for the Palestinian Arabs.

"As we have seen (in the) last hours on Gaza there is no status quo at all. If we don't have positive steps, we will have negative steps," said Mogherini, who last week travelled to the region to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA leaders.

"We also have the political interest and the moral duty to work together as much as possible to re-establish a political horizon, without which even concrete steps that make the life of the people more positive on the ground would not be enough," the former Italian foreign minister said.

Mogherini has relentlessly called for a two-state solution, with a secure Israel lying alongside a viable Palestinian state following 1949 Armistice lines. 

The peace talks fell apart in April 2014 after the PA broke the Oslo Accords and formed a unity government with Hamas, and prospects for their renewal seem bleak.

"Without any kind of political process, without any horizon, we cannot expect anything but more violence to come again," she said.

Mogherini also urged the Palestinian leaders, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamist movement Hamas, which runs Gaza, to "restart a national reconciliation process."