Ministers from Arab states will meet with European Union counterparts in Brussels on Monday to try to forge a common path on ending the fighting in Gaza and build lasting peace, a senior EU official has said.

Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will join a regular meeting of foreign ministers from the 27-member EU, said Sven Koopmans, the EU’s special representative for the Middle East peace process.

Koopmans said the gathering was one of a series at which Arab and European countries were seeking common positions on ways to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“Our assignment is to see how we can build a coalition where we try collectively to contribute [to peace efforts] without putting people in a corner,” Koopmans told Reuters.