BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - European backers put on a show of support for the Palestinian Authority and the push for a two-state solution Monday, as the US-Israeli war with Iran has dragged focus away from Gaza.

The efforts to bolster the Palestinian Authority come as US President Donald Trump has sidelined it in his plans for Gaza and the "Board of Peace" initiative.

"We meet in the middle of a storm. But we cannot abandon the compass," said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot at the start of a meeting of the "Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution".

"We must hold the course, because the Israeli-Palestinian issue is affecting the Middle East as a whole and also the rest of the world."

The European Union is the biggest financial backer of the Palestinians and -- despite having reservations about the Ramallah-based authorities -- believes they have a key role to play in post-war Gaza.

"We can and must do more to ensure respect for human rights and accountability, to protect the Palestinian people and to put the two-state solution solidly on the table again," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Attending the Brussels conference, Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa said it was happening "at a moment defined by both immense tragedy and a narrow, but real opportunity to move from war toward a just and lasting peace".

Mustafa insisted that post-conflict Gaza remained an "integral part of the state of Palestine" and that governance should eventually be handed over to the Palestinian Authority.

The United States in October struck a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas aimed at ending the Gaza war.

In January, Washington announced that the ceasefire had moved into its second phase under the peace plan brokered by Trump.

This phase envisages the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The plan also foresees that the daily governance of Gaza will eventually be handed over to a technocratic committee of Palestinians.

The show of backing for the Palestinians, comes as the position among some European states has also hardened towards Israel over its war in Lebanon and the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country will re-up its demand for the EU to suspend a cooperation with Israel at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on Tuesday.

Diplomats said however that the move seemed unlikely to go through as other EU states were unwilling to risk impacting a truce deal in Lebanon announced last week.