BRUSSELS, March 27: The European Commission pledged on Friday to support the new Israeli government as long as it accepts certain benchmarks, including the principle of an autonomous Palestinian state.

“The European Commission is looking forward to working with the new Israeli government in pursuit of a common agenda,” the EU executive’s head Jose Manuel Barroso said in a message to Israeli premier-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It stands ready to assist and support you in your search for peace, prosperity and security for the people in Israel and the region, based on the vision of two states living side by side in peace and prosperity,” he said.

Netanyahu, from the right-wing Likud party, plans to present his new government to parliament next week, following the Labour party’s decision to join his coalition, which includes other right-wing and religious formations.

The United States has warned that peace efforts, which have barely budged in recent years, will not be any easier under the hardline Netanyahu, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.

Barroso’s spokesman noted: “There are certain benchmarks that we would like to see followed in this relationship.”

Another commission spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, said that EU foreign ministers would be discussing developments in Israel, and the fallout of its war on the militant Palestinian Hamas movement holding the Gaza Strip.—AFP
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