A group of former European diplomats and political leaders has called on the European Union to “construct a coherent and effective policy on the question of Palestine.”

The call by the European Eminent Persons Group came in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, London’s Guardian newspaper reported on May 13.

The group is made up of former prime ministers, foreign ministers and ambassadors, many of whom signed the letter.

According to the letter, the call was spurred by the re-election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his formation of a new, right-wing government.

The group believes Netanyahu has “little intention of negotiating seriously for a two-state solution” during his new government’s term, and that it has “low confidence” in the United States government “to take a lead on fresh negotiations with the vigor and the impartiality that a two-state outcome demands.”

The letter also calls on the EU to support a United Nations Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state; preparing a new approach to negotiations such as the Arab Peace Initiative; encouraging Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and other Islamic groups; calling for an end to end to West Bank settlement expansion; and labeling goods for sale in EU countries that were produced in Jewish settlements. — jta