Arab states and the European Union have agreed at a meeting in Spain that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza, Reuters reports.

Borrell said all EU members attending the meeting of Mediterranean nations in Barcelona and almost all attendees overall had agreed on the need for a two-state solution.

The Palestinian Authority must hold elections and improve its functioning but is the only “viable solution” to the future leadership of Gaza, currently run by Hamas Islamists, to avoid a “power vacuum”, he said.